What is Zacks Research's Estimate for Centene Q3 Earnings?

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) - Research analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q3 2025 earnings estimates for Centene in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, June 10th. Zacks Research analyst K. Dey now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $1.53 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.54. The consensus estimate for Centene's current full-year earnings is $6.86 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Centene's Q2 2026 earnings at $2.13 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $1.61 EPS.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $65.00 price objective (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.71.

Centene Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of CNC stock traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $55.20. 3,457,567 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,902,575. The business's fifty day moving average is $59.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.92. Centene has a 12-month low of $54.01 and a 12-month high of $80.59. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $27.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter worth $1,536,167,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Centene by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,091,964 shares of the company's stock valued at $673,393,000 after buying an additional 536,508 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,049,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $669,820,000 after buying an additional 3,306,796 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,469,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $391,854,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Centene by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,294,816 shares of the company's stock worth $320,760,000 after buying an additional 443,121 shares during the period. 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.