Jim Cramer Gives a Thumbs Up to Centene (CNC): "Eight Times Earnings? That's a Gem"

We recently published a list of Jim Cramer Recently Talked About These 15 Stocks. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) stands against other stocks that Jim Cramer discussed recently.

On Tuesday, Jim Cramer, host of Mad Money, offered his perspective on the day’s market rally as he delved into the impact of the ongoing dynamic between President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

“All day, I heard that today’s rally was just a bear market rally, okay? That it was a phony spike, and the market will go right back down the moment the president posts that there’ll be no compromise on tariffs. Who knows, maybe Fed Chief Jay Powell should be deported.”

READ ALSO: 9 Stocks on Jim Cramer’s Radar and Jim Cramer’s Thoughts on These 5 Stocks.

However, Cramer pointed out that the tone shifted significantly just after the market closed. In his words, “We get incredible news that is sure to drive this market higher.” The news came directly from the President, who clarified that he had no intention of firing Powell, a rumor that Cramer identified as a major factor in the prior day’s market slide. Trump’s statement, “Never did, never will,” regarding any plans to remove Powell effectively erased the cloud of uncertainty that had been hanging over the markets.

Given this reversal, Cramer questioned whether the rally could still be called a bear market bounce. In his view, it now looked like something more substantial. He explained that real recoveries are often mischaracterized at first. According to Cramer, they typically begin with what appear to be bear market rallies, short-lived, suspicious upticks that many investors brush off due to repeated disappointments in the past. He stressed that the early stages of genuine market turnarounds are often marked by disbelief and hesitation, with only the boldest or most reckless traders recognizing their potential early on. He added:

“Now look, just because the President doesn’t want a constitutional crisis and is going to keep Powell doesn’t mean we have more to go on. For example, there’s been no sign of change from the administration on the trade wars.”

Our Methodology

For this article, we compiled a list of 15 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episode of Mad Money aired on April 22. We listed the stocks in the order that Cramer mentioned them. We also provided hedge fund sentiment for each stock as of the fourth quarter of 2024, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of over 1,000 hedge funds.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 72

A caller asked for Cramer’s thoughts on Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC), and in response, he said:

“Well, you know, like I heard today, Medicaid may be, they involve Medicaid, Medicaid could be cut back, and that’s not good for Centene, as I read it. Centene, though, sells at eight times earnings. I really think it’s a gem of a company. But then again, as you say, I am biased… But I’m going to say thumbs up to Centene at eight times earnings.”

Centene (NYSE:CNC) is a healthcare provider offering a range of services for underserved populations and commercial organizations. Its operations span Medicaid, Medicare, commercial health insurance, and various clinical and support services. River Road Asset Management stated the following regarding Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:

“The holding with the lowest contribution to active return wasCentene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) , a managed care organization (MCO) specializing in government-sponsored plans. Historically, health insurance has been a steady business that generates consistent free cash flow (CNC has produced positive FCF since 1998), and we believe CNC stands out as the prime MCO beneficiary of any future economic weakness. The company is the leading provider of Medicaid managed care plans with 17% market share, and it also owns the leading individual exchange franchise. When the economy stumbles, CNC’s revenues should increase as more individuals qualify for CNC’s plans. We are particularly encouraged by the new management’s focus on shareholder value–since the founder stepped down in Q4 2021, the company has divested seven businesses for more than $3.5B and deployed the proceeds into share repurchases.

Despite these strong long-term fundamentals, Centene’s stock declined. This was primarily due to ongoing challenges in its Medicaid business, where the medical loss ratio continued to deteriorate due to a mismatch between reimbursement rates and patient acuity following redeterminations, with Medicaid membership declining -14% even as exchange enrollment grew 22%. While management remains confident this pressure is temporary and all states have acknowledged the need to adjust rates to match patient acuity, investors remained concerned about the timing of this recovery. The stock was further pressured by broader health care sector headwinds, including potential policy risks from a Republican sweep and changes to Medicare Part D prescription drug plans. Even though the company maintained its fiscal year (FY) 2024 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) guidance of over $6.80 and executed significant share repurchases of $1.6B in Q3 and October (~4.7% of shares outstanding), the stock traded at just 9.4x forward earnings, well below its five-year average of 12x, reflecting near-term investor skepticism. We maintained the position.”

Overall, CNC ranks 7th on our list of stocks that Jim Cramer discussed recently. While we acknowledge the potential of CNC as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CNC but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.