What is Zacks Research’s Estimate for Centene Q2 Earnings?

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) – Research analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q2 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Centene in a report issued on Monday, November 17th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the company will earn $0.81 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.94. Zacks Research currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Centene’s current full-year earnings is $6.86 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Centene’s FY2026 earnings at $2.82 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $3.96 EPS.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by $0.71. Centene had a positive return on equity of 7.82% and a negative net margin of 2.85%.The firm had revenue of $49.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Centene in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Mizuho boosted their price target on Centene from $28.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. UBS Group set a $42.00 price objective on Centene and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Centene from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.47.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of Centene stock opened at $36.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.42, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.49. Centene has a 52 week low of $25.08 and a 52 week high of $66.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $35.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.43.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Centene by 3.7% in the first quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 99,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,040,000 after acquiring an additional 3,574 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the first quarter valued at about $316,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 659 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,632,000. Finally, VCI Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Centene in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $719,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

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.