Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) to Post Q3 2025 Earnings of $1.80 Per Share, Zacks Research Forecasts

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) – Analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Centene in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, September 17th. Zacks Research analyst K. Dey now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $1.80 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.69. The consensus estimate for Centene’s current full-year earnings is $6.82 per share.

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

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial cut their target price on Centene from $92.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.58.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $75.63 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $40.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.48. Centene has a 12 month low of $63.45 and a 12 month high of $81.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $74.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.53.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centene

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the 1st quarter worth approximately $914,080,000. Harris Associates L P raised its stake in Centene by 172.8% in the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 10,863,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,170,000 after purchasing an additional 6,881,450 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Centene by 60.2% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,216,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $409,390,000 after buying an additional 1,959,460 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 22.9% during 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 grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.