Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Centene Corporation $CNC

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 14.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 503,392 shares of the company’s stock after selling 83,561 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.10% of Centene worth $17,961,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Centene News Summary

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 Down 3.7%

Centene stock opened at $38.46 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $18.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a fifty day moving average of $42.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.99. Centene Corporation has a twelve month low of $25.08 and a twelve month high of $66.03.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Centene from $25.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays set a $44.00 target price on shares of Centene and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Mizuho set a $47.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Friday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Centene from $28.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Centene from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.81.

About Centene

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.