Zacks Research Weighs in on Centene Co.’s Q1 2025 Earnings (NYSE:CNC)

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for shares of Centene in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, September 17th. Zacks Research analyst K. Dey now forecasts that the company will earn $2.69 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.72. The consensus estimate for Centene’s current full-year earnings is $6.82 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Centene’s Q2 2025 earnings at $1.85 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.99 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.34 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.99 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.08 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $8.14 EPS.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.02). Centene had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 1.79%. The company had revenue of $39.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of Centene to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.58.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE:CNC opened at $75.63 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $74.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.51. The company has a market capitalization of $40.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Centene has a 1-year low of $63.45 and a 1-year high of $81.42.

Institutional Trading of Centene

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 1st quarter valued at about $914,080,000. Harris Associates L P boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 172.8% during the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 10,863,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,170,000 after acquiring an additional 6,881,450 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 60.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,216,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $409,390,000 after acquiring an additional 1,959,460 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 22.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,461,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,799,000 after buying an additional 832,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 14.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,113,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,042,000 after buying an additional 636,683 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Company Profile

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.