Brokers Issue Forecasts for Centene’s Q1 Earnings (NYSE:CNC)

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Centene in a note issued to investors on Thursday, November 14th. Zacks Research analyst K. Dey now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $2.62 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $2.69. The consensus estimate for Centene’s current full-year earnings is $6.83 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Centene’s Q3 2025 earnings at $1.82 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.96 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.24 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.91 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $2.04 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on CNC. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com lowered Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.92.

Centene Stock Up 2.4 %

Centene stock opened at $58.83 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.88. Centene has a one year low of $57.20 and a one year high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CNC. Park Place Capital Corp increased its stake in Centene by 1,190.0% in the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 41.4% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Chris Bulman Inc acquired a new stake in Centene during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Riverview Trust Co grew its stake in Centene by 154.6% in the second quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, CEO Sarah London acquired 4,117 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. This trade represents a 0.62 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher bought 17,200 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. This represents a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.