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Saint Louis, Missouri-based Centene Corporation (CNC) operates as a healthcare enterprise, providing programs and services to underinsured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families. With a market cap of $31.7 billion, Centene operates through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other segments.
The healthcare plan provider is set to unveil its first-quarter results before the markets open on Friday, Apr. 25. Ahead of the event, analysts project CNC to report a non-GAAP profit of $2.32 per share, up 2.7% from $2.26 per share reported in the year-ago quarter. While the company has missed Street’s bottom-line estimates once over the past four quarters, it has surpassed the projections on three other occasions.
However, for the full fiscal 2025, CNC is expected to report a non-GAAP EPS of $7.03, down nearly 2% from $7.17 reported in fiscal 2024. While in fiscal 2026, its earnings are expected to rebound 9.1% year-over-year to $7.67 per share.
CNC stock prices have plunged nearly 10.9% over the past 52 weeks, notably lagging behind the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 3.2% uptick and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLV) 2.9% dip during the same time frame.
Despite reporting better-than-expected financials, Centene’s stock dropped 5.5% after the release of its Q4 results on Feb. 4. Driven by solid growth in premiums, the company’s overall topline increased 3.4% year-over-year to $40.8 billion, exceeding analysts’ projections by a notable margin. Furthermore, the company’s non-GAAP EPS surged 77.8% year-over-year to $0.80, beating the consensus estimates by a staggering 63.3%. Moreover, as per management’s guidance, Centene’s premium and service revenues are expected to range between $158 billion to $160 billion in fiscal 2025, significantly up from $145.5 billion in fiscal 2024.
However, the company’s cash flows took a significant hit during the year. It reported an operating cash outflow of $587 million in Q4 and its full-year operating cash flows dropped to $154 million, down from the massive $8.1 billion reported in fiscal 2023.
Nonetheless, the consensus view on CNC stock is optimistic, with an overall “Moderate Buy” rating. Of the 18 analysts covering the stock, nine recommend “Strong Buy” while nine suggest a “Hold” rating. Its mean price target of $78.09 represents a 22.3% premium to current price levels.
