Centene (CNC) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $12.85B
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Average Volume (3M): 22.90M
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 6.5
• Beta (1Y): 0.04
• Revenue Growth: 12.96%
• EPS Growth: -23.25%
• Country: US
• Employees: 60,400
• Sector: Healthcare
• Sector Strength: 43
• Industry: Medical - Healthcare Plans
• EPS (TTM): -0.16
• Shares Outstanding: 491,133,000
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 16,309,788
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 22,901,377
• PEG Ratio: N/A
• Price to Book (P/B): N/A
• Price to Sales (P/S): N/A
• P/FCF Ratio: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 3.46
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 0.25
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 2.80
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 10.14
• 1Y Price Target: $34.36
• Price Target Upside: 27.59% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Hold
• Number of Analyst Covering: 17

• Rating: 58 Neutral
• Price Target: $28.00 ▲(3.97% Upside)

Centene's overall stock score reflects strong revenue growth and a stable balance sheet but is heavily impacted by operational inefficiencies and bearish technical indicators. The negative sentiment from the earnings call, highlighting significant financial challenges, further weighs down the score. Despite being potentially undervalued, the lack of a dividend yield and technical weakness limits its attractiveness.

Positive Factors

Managed Care Services Impact

CNC was able to begin applying managed care services in Florida, and is already seeing the impact of these interventions.

Medicare Performance

Medicare was the lone bright spot with PDP and MA both outperforming expectations, although still operating at a negative margin.

Negative Factors

Exchange Business Challenges

Centene expects the exchange business to be slightly negative margin for the remainder of 2025 due to updated risk adjustment headwinds.

Medicaid Margin Pressures

Medicaid is experiencing headwinds in behavioral, home health, and high-cost drugs, pushing its margin well below target.

Centene Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Centene Corporation (CNC) is a leading multi-national healthcare enterprise that provides a wide range of managed healthcare services, primarily focusing on government-sponsored programs. The company operates through various segments, including Medicaid, Medicare, and Health Insurance Marketplace programs, serving millions of members across the United States. Centene's core offerings encompass health plans, pharmacy benefits management, and specialized services aimed at improving the health outcomes of its members while managing costs effectively.

How the Company Makes Money

Centene generates revenue primarily through the provision of healthcare services to government programs such as Medicaid and Medicare. The company earns money by receiving monthly premiums for each member enrolled in its health plans, which are paid by state and federal government agencies. Key revenue streams include Medicaid managed care, Medicare Advantage plans, and the Health Insurance Marketplace. Additionally, Centene benefits from partnerships with various states to administer Medicaid programs and engages in value-based care arrangements that incentivize cost savings and improved health outcomes. The company's growth is also supported by strategic acquisitions that expand its service offerings and member base, enhancing its overall revenue potential.

Centene Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Centene shows strong revenue growth and a stable balance sheet with moderate leverage. However, operational efficiency is a concern with low EBIT and EBITDA margins. Cash flow metrics indicate challenges in cash conversion, but there are recent improvements in free cash flow.

Income Statement

Centene's TTM (Trailing-Twelve-Months) data shows a robust Gross Profit Margin of 12.5% and a Net Profit Margin of 1.15%. The company demonstrated a strong Revenue Growth Rate of 9.29% from the previous year, indicating healthy expansion. However, the EBIT Margin of 1.07% and EBITDA Margin of 2.25% are relatively low, suggesting limited operational efficiency.

Balance Sheet

Centene's financial leverage is moderate with a Debt-to-Equity Ratio of 0.64. The company has a Return on Equity (ROE) of 7.5%, which is satisfactory but shows room for improvement. The Equity Ratio stands at 31.73%, reflecting a stable capital structure with a reasonable proportion of equity financing.

Cash Flow

The company's Free Cash Flow Growth Rate is positive, recovering from a negative position last year to $1.08 billion. The Operating Cash Flow to Net Income Ratio of 0.84 indicates adequate cash generation relative to net profits. However, the Free Cash Flow to Net Income Ratio of 0.53 suggests potential challenges in converting earnings into free cash flow.

Breakdown	TTM	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021	Dec 2020
Income Statement
Total Revenue	178.19B	163.07B	154.00B	144.55B	125.98B	111.11B
Gross Profit	15.90B	16.83B	17.32B	16.66B	14.20B	15.22B
EBITDA	4.39B	6.20B	5.62B	4.06B	3.81B	4.76B
Net Income	2.05B	3.31B	2.70B	1.20B	1.35B	1.81B
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	86.39B	82.44B	84.64B	76.87B	78.38B	68.72B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	17.28B	16.68B	19.65B	14.39B	14.66B	12.38B
Total Debt	17.58B	19.43B	18.88B	21.33B	22.66B	18.32B
Total Liabilities	58.89B	55.94B	58.69B	52.63B	51.35B	42.76B
Stockholders Equity	27.41B	26.41B	25.84B	24.06B	26.80B	25.77B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	1.08B	-490.00M	7.25B	5.26B	3.29B	4.63B
Operating Cash Flow	1.73B	154.00M	8.05B	6.26B	4.21B	5.50B
Investing Cash Flow	-2.17B	-1.05B	-1.19B	-2.92B	-3.30B	-6.96B
Financing Cash Flow	-2.68B	-2.41B	-1.66B	-4.20B	1.36B	260.00M

Centene Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Negative
• Last Price: 26.93
• 50DMA: Negative
• 100DMA: Negative
• 200DMA: Negative
• MACD: Negative
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Negative

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For CNC, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 26.93 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 26.58, below the 50-day MA of 38.44, and below the 200-day MA of 54.81, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of -3.12 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 36.08 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 80.77 is Negative, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for CNC.

Centene Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
HUM	75 Outperform	$33.07B	21.10	9.03%	1.26%	9.88%	-7.25%
CVS	73 Outperform	$83.09B	18.28	5.95%	3.99%	6.27%	-36.28%
CI	73 Outperform	$74.87B	15.32	12.31%	2.03%	20.93%	43.98%
ELV	71 Outperform	$65.86B	12.45	12.48%	2.26%	10.21%	-17.79%
MOH	65 Neutral	$8.53B	7.95	23.93%	―	16.12%	10.99%
Sector *	60 Neutral	HK$18.14B	5.28	-4.00%	3.33%	10.16%	-17.39%
CNC	58 Neutral	$12.85B	6.47	7.50%	―	12.96%	-23.25%

Centene Corporate Events

Centene Director Wayne DeVeydt Resigns Effective Immediately

On August 1, 2025, Wayne S. DeVeydt resigned from his position as a director at Centene Corporation, effective immediately. His departure was not due to any disagreements with the company or its board, and following his resignation, the board reduced its size to ten directors.

The most recent analyst rating on (CNC) stock is a Hold with a $64.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Centene stock, see the CNC Stock Forecast page.