What is Zacks Research’s Forecast for Centene Q1 Earnings?

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research reduced their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Centene in a note issued to investors on Thursday, January 2nd. Zacks Research analyst K. Dey now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $2.37 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate 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 reports about the company. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group raised Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Stephens decreased their price target on Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.92.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE CNC opened at $61.48 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $60.02 and its 200 day moving average is $67.62. The company has a market capitalization of $31.04 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45. Centene has a fifty-two week low of $55.03 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 5.2% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 27,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,816,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 13.2% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 668,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,347,000 after purchasing an additional 78,005 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 1.1% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 155,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,280,000 after purchasing an additional 1,762 shares during the period. Chris Bulman Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 94.2% in the second quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 11,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $750,000 after purchasing an additional 5,489 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director H James Dallas acquired 1,693 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $59.01 per share, with a total value of $99,903.93. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,903.93. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sarah London acquired 4,117 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,567,523.20. The trade was a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 45,010 shares of company stock valued at $2,660,276 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by 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.