Centene Corporation $CNC Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 503,392 shares of the company’s stock after selling 83,561 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $17,961,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Centene in the first quarter valued at about $236,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 80.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 4,315 shares during the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 163.7% during the second quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 21,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,183,000 after buying an additional 13,529 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Centene by 198.6% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 1,406 shares during the period. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc raised its stake in Centene by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 356,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,366,000 after acquiring an additional 15,309 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CNC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $38.00 target price (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group set a $42.00 target price on shares of Centene and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Centene from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.81.

Key Stories Impacting Centene

Here are the key news stories impacting Centene this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Centene guided to adjusted EPS of $3.00 for FY‑2026, above consensus, and said profit should be above Wall Street expectations — a sign management expects cost stabilization. Centene sees 2026 profit above estimates signaling stabilizing costs (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue beat estimates ($49.73B vs. ~$48.4B) and revenue rose ~22% YoY, driven by PDP and Marketplace growth — top‑line strength that supports future scale. Centene Q4 results and press release (MarketBeat)
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts/upgrades are framing the pullback as a buying opportunity after the stock’s earlier drop, which could attract tactical interest if costs improve. Centene Is On The Mend After A Hefty Fall (Seeking Alpha)
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released its earnings call transcript and slide deck — useful for investors parsing management’s details on Medicaid remediation and cost actions. Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript (Seeking Alpha)
• Neutral Sentiment: Local PR items (Health Net community events) are positive for brand/marketing but unlikely to move the stock materially. Health Net and Pro Football Hall of Fame event (PR Newswire)
• Negative Sentiment: Centene reported a Q4 GAAP/adjusted loss (about $1.19 EPS vs. a year‑ago profit), citing rising medical costs that drove a >$1B hit — a key driver of the selloff. Centene Reports $1 Billion Loss (Forbes)
• Negative Sentiment: Medicaid membership declined, and management gave a mixed revenue outlook — revenue guidance ($186.5B–$190.5B) came in below consensus, raising concerns about near‑term growth and margin recovery. Centene Takes A Hit As Medicaid Membership Shrinks (Benzinga)
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and news outlets highlighted the mixed 2026 outlook and ongoing medical-cost pressure despite top‑line growth — the primary reason investors moved to sell. Centene Swings to Loss Despite Higher Revenue (WSJ)

Centene Stock Performance

CNC opened at $38.46 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.99. Centene Corporation has a 52-week low of $25.08 and a 52-week high of $66.03. The company has a market cap of $18.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.82, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.19) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.22) by $0.03. Centene had a negative net margin of 3.43% and a positive return on equity of 4.25%. The firm had revenue of $49.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. Centene has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.000-3.000 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Centene Company Profile

Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene’s offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.