Health and Healthcare

What to Expect From Centene Earnings

Paul Ausick

Published: February 8, 2016 1:40 pm

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 1:28 pm

Health insurance provider Centene Corp. (NYSE: CNC) is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings on Tuesday before markets open. The company is expected to report earnings per share (EPS) of $0.86 and revenues of $6.17 billion, compared with $0.87 per share and $4.72 billion in the year ago quarter.

For the full year, analysts are looking for EPS of $2.95 and revenues of $22.45 billion, up from with 2014 EPS of $2.23 and revenues of $16.56 billion.

About two weeks ago, the company said it was conducting an “ongoing comprehensive internal search for six hard drives” that failed to turn up during an inventory count of its IT assets. The drives contain personal health information on approximately 950,000 individuals. Centene said that the missing drives contained personal health information on people who had received laboratory services between 2009 and 2015, including name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, member ID number and health information. No financial or payment data were contained on the drives.

At the same time, the company said it expected annual EPS above its previous guidance of $2.90 to $2.94 and revenues of $22.8 billion. Quarterly EPS excluding merger-related expenses are now estimated at $0.95, and for the year Centene expects EPS of $3.03.

Here are the most recent analyst ratings and price targets:

• Barclays has an Equal Weight rating on the stock and raised its price target from $70 to $72 a share.
• Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating and raised its price target from $75 to $80.
• FBR reiterated an Outperform rating and kept its price target of $90.
• Oppenheimer also reiterated an Outperform rating with an $89 price target.

Centene’s shares dropped about 9.5% between the time it announced its missing hard drives and Friday’s close. Shares were down about 5.7% in the early afternoon Monday, at $53.83 in a 52-week range of $50.93 to $83.00. The consensus price target from Thomson Reuters is $81.94.