Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Forecasted to Post Q3 2024 Earnings of $1.40 Per Share

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) – Zacks Research decreased their Q3 2024 EPS estimates for shares of Centene in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, September 11th. Zacks Research analyst K. Dey now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $1.40 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.61. 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 $1.94 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.69 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.35 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.14 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $8.18 EPS.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $39.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.83 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on CNC. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Centene from $92.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Oppenheimer reduced 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Centene from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.75.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of Centene stock opened at $73.47 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $73.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Centene has a fifty-two week low of $63.45 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42.

Institutional Trading of Centene

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,373,000. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at $206,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 64.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 32,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,154,000 after buying an additional 12,674 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 0.7% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 378,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,071,000 after buying an additional 2,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearline Capital LP increased its position in shares of Centene by 37.5% during the second quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 268,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,787,000 after acquiring an additional 73,172 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.