Zacks Research Weighs in on Centene's Q3 Earnings (NYSE:CNC)

Key Points

• Zacks Research has revised its Q3 2025 earnings per share estimate for Centene Corporation from $0.56 to ($0.12), reflecting a significant downgrade in expectations.
• Mizuho and Robert W. Baird both cut their price targets on Centene, with Mizuho lowering it from $71.00 to $40.00, and Baird dropping it from $68.00 to $28.00.
• Centene's last quarterly earnings report showed a loss of ($0.16) EPS, missing the consensus estimate, despite revenue increasing by 22.4% year-over-year to $48.74 billion.

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Centene in a research report issued on Wednesday, August 13th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of ($0.12) for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.56. The consensus estimate for Centene's current full-year earnings is $6.86 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Centene's Q4 2025 earnings at ($0.88) EPS, FY2025 earnings at $1.74 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.85 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.94 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.24 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at ($0.13) EPS, FY2026 earnings at $2.90 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $2.02 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $4.00 EPS.

CNC has been the subject of several other research reports. Mizuho cut their price target on Centene from $71.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Centene from $68.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $33.00 price objective (down previously from $73.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Centene from $33.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $42.20.

Centene Trading Up 5.8%

NYSE:CNC opened at $28.50 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.00 billion, a PE ratio of 7.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Centene has a 52-week low of $25.08 and a 52-week high of $80.59. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.83.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.39). The firm had revenue of $48.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.71 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 1.15%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS.

Institutional Trading of Centene

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 1,236.2% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 3,247 shares of the company's stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 3,004 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in Centene by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 565,295 shares of the company's stock worth $30,726,000 after acquiring an additional 10,315 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new position in Centene in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $79,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 28.2% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 106,424 shares of the company's stock worth $5,777,000 after acquiring an additional 23,395 shares during the period. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 20.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 11,973 shares of the company's stock worth $650,000 after acquiring an additional 2,051 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Centene news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II purchased 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.62 per share, for a total transaction of $248,580.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 32,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $883,840. This represents a 39.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sarah London purchased 19,230 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.50 per share, with a total value of $490,365.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 845,275 shares in the company, valued at $21,554,512.50. This trade represents a 2.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.36% 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.

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