Zacks Research Comments on Centene's Q1 Earnings (NYSE:CNC)

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Centene in a report issued on Thursday, January 2nd. Zacks Research analyst K. Dey now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $2.37 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $2.38. The consensus estimate for Centene's current full-year earnings is $6.83 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Centene's Q2 2025 earnings at $2.16 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.77 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $0.97 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Centene from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.92.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC traded up $1.16 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $62.64. 4,930,245 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,583,948. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Centene has a 52 week low of $55.03 and a 52 week high of $81.42. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $60.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.63. The firm has a market cap of $31.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Harris Associates L P grew its stake in shares of Centene by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 26,314,183 shares of the company's stock worth $1,980,932,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,825 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Centene by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,461,517 shares of the company's stock worth $295,799,000 after purchasing an additional 832,318 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Centene by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,113,759 shares of the company's stock valued at $339,042,000 after buying an additional 636,683 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 15.4% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,203,049 shares of the company's stock worth $241,126,000 after acquiring an additional 428,100 shares during the period. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its holdings in Centene by 42.3% in the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 1,400,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,838,000 after purchasing an additional 416,003 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Centene news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher purchased 17,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at $28,305,284.58. The trade was a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sarah London acquired 4,117 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $60.80 per share, with a total value of $250,313.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. This represents a 0.62 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 45,010 shares of company stock worth $2,660,276 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

About Centene

Centene Corporation operates as a healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families in the United States. The company operates through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other segments. The Medicaid segment offers health plan coverage, including medicaid expansion, aged, blind, disabled, children's health insurance program, foster care, medicare-medicaid plans, long-term services and support.