Research Analysts Set Expectations for Centene Q4 Earnings

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q4 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Centene in a research report issued on Thursday, May 15th. Zacks Research analyst K. Dey now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $0.83 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.96. The consensus estimate for Centene's current full-year earnings is $6.86 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Centene's FY2027 earnings at $8.46 EPS.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 2.03%. The company had revenue of $46.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. Centene's revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on CNC. Argus downgraded Centene from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.77.

Centene Trading Down 2.0%

NYSE:CNC traded down $1.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $60.75. 3,227,541 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,874,281. Centene has a 12-month low of $55.03 and a 12-month high of $80.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.74, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $60.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.44.

Institutional Trading of Centene

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Centene in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,536,167,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Centene by 42.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,049,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $669,820,000 after acquiring an additional 3,306,796 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Centene in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $146,557,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in Centene by 155.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,901,603 shares of the company's stock valued at $236,802,000 after acquiring an additional 2,373,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in Centene by 1,788.1% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,245,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $136,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,126,582 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.