CNC vs HUM vs SLF Stock Comparison

Centene, Humana and Sun Life Financial Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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CNC Centene Corp
$68.73 +11.2% 1M +107.3% 1Y
Market cap
$32.93B
P/E
22.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$203.90B
Div. yield
–
Managed Care Healthcare
2 wins
HUM Humana Inc
$415.02 +4.2% 1M +42.0% 1Y
Market cap
$49.70B
P/E
38.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$145.68B
Div. yield
–
Managed Care Healthcare
2 wins
SLF Sun Life Financial Inc
$80.05 +0.2% 1M +28.5% 1Y
Market cap
$45.56B
P/E
19.0x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Life Insurance Financial Services
5 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Sun Life Financial leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Sun Life Financial 5, Humana 2, Centene 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCNCHUMSLFLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $32.93B $49.70B $45.56B HUM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 22.6x 38.9x 19.0x SLF
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.6x 48.0x 13.2x SLF
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.7% +18.3% — HUM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 0.9% — –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 6.7% 12.7% SLF
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -2.7x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +107.3% +42.0% +28.5% CNC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -0.8%/yr -2.4%/yr +6.9%/yr SLF
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.4% 48.0% 18.6% SLF
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 42/100 34/100 CNC

Percentile Scorecard

CNCHUMSLF

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisCNCHUMSLF
Valuation 96 #2 of 25 54 #12 of 25 21 #94 of 119
Growth 61 #10 of 24 13 #21 of 24 27 #84 of 114
Profitability 70 #8 of 24 39 #15 of 24 43 #63 of 110
Financial Health 44 #15 of 26 68 #9 of 26 33 #74 of 110
Shareholder Returns – 36 #10 of 15 48 #56 of 106
Overall 68 42 34
  • CNC ranked among 27 companies in Healthcare Payers and Distributors
  • HUM ranked among 27 companies in Healthcare Payers and Distributors
  • SLF ranked among 126 companies in Insurance

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodCNCHUMSLFSPY
1 month +11.2%+4.2%+0.2% -0.2%
3 months +7.2%+6.7%-4.8% +3.9%
6 months +38.7%+80.7%+12.4% +8.2%
Year to date +67.0%+62.0%+28.3% +12.9%
1 year +107.3%+42.0%+28.5% +12.3%
3 years +1.9%-18.7%+78.9% +87.4%
3 years, per year +0.6%-6.7%+21.4% +23.3%
5 years -4.0%-11.2%+39.5% +67.9%
5 years, per year -0.8%-2.4%+6.9% +10.9%
10 years +116.7%+138.3%+138.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year +8.0%+9.1%+9.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCNCHUMSLFSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.4%48.0%18.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 47.4%52.7%20.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.310.570.37 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.260.871.54 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -74.1%-70.9%-33.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.5%-4.3%-4.8% -1.2%
52-week high $71.21$433.45$84.07 $779.14
52-week low $31.80$163.67$57.60 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleCNCHUMSLF
P/E now vs peer median 23.2xmedian 23.9x 39.0xmedian 23.9x 18.8xmedian 10.5x
P/S now vs peer median 0.2xmedian 0.3x 0.3xmedian 0.3x —median 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 13.4x 11.6xmedian 13.4x —median 7.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 3.4xmedian 15.5x 25.6xmedian 15.5x 13.5xmedian 8.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 2.5x 2.6xmedian 2.5x 2.4xmedian 1.5x
PEG now vs peer median -1.74median 1.34 -1.45median 1.34 7.18median 0.53

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsCNCHUMSLF
Revenue $203.90B $145.68B –
Gross profit – $19.89B –
Operating income $1.01B $2.71B –
Net income $1.46B $1.29B $2.57B
Free cash flow – $1.95B $3.28B
EPS (diluted) $2.93 $10.56 $4.23
Cash & equivalents $20.70B $6.89B –
Total debt – $54.48B $6.42B
Shares (diluted) 497.64M 121.14M 566.00M
Enterprise value $32.93B -$38.17B $3.52B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricCNCHUMSLF
P/E 23.2x 39.0x 18.8x
P/FCF 3.4x 25.6x 13.5x
P/Operating cash flow 7.2x 19.6x 13.1x
P/S 0.2x 0.3x –
P/B 1.5x 2.6x 2.4x
P/Tangible book 1.9x 2.6x 2.9x
EV/EBITDA – 11.6x –
EV/EBIT – 15.0x 9.9x
EV/Revenue 0.2x 0.3x –
EV/FCF – 20.8x 12.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.2x 16.0x 11.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.74 -1.45 7.18

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCNCHUMSLF
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.7% 18.3% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.7% 13.8% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 7.5% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 3.6% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 117.7% -17.9% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -29.2% -15.3% –
Net income growth (1Y) 127.6% -18.3% 4.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -15.8% -27.4% 6.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 127.2% -19.1% 4.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -13.4% -26.9% 2.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 16.2% -13.4% 8.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -9.0% -42.3% 13.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -20.1% 8.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -45.6% 9.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCNCHUMSLF
Gross margin – 13.7% –
EBITDA margin – 2.4% –
Operating margin – 1.9% –
Pretax margin – 1.1% –
Net margin – 0.9% –
FCF margin – 1.3% –
Operating cash flow margin 2.3% 1.7% –
Return on equity 6.5% 6.8% 13.9%
Return on assets 1.8% 2.3% 0.9%
Return on invested capital – 6.7% 12.7%
Return on capital employed – 8.1% –
Asset turnover 2.5x 2.6x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.2x 2.0x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.1% 0.2% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCNCHUMSLF
Debt / assets – 25.5% 2.1%
Debt / equity – 0.8x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA – -2.7x –
Debt / FCF – 7.5x 2.0x
Liabilities / assets 71.9% 66.3% 93.7%
Equity / assets 28.1% 33.7% 6.3%
Interest coverage – 3.8x 5.6x
Current ratio 1.2x 1.7x –
Quick ratio – 1.3x –
Cash ratio – 1.0x –
Altman Z-score – 4.60 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCNCHUMSLF
Dividend yield – 0.6% 4.7%
Net buyback yield – 0.3% -0.1%
Shareholder yield – 0.9% 4.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusCNCHUMSLF
Forward P/E 13.6xFY2026 48.0xFY2026 13.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.04FY2026 $8.65FY2026 $6.06FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +142.3%FY2026 -49.5%FY2026 +11.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +11.5% +84.9% -3.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $202.57BFY2026 $166.70BFY2026 $6.17BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.0%FY2026 +28.6%FY2026 -4.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -0.4% +7.6% +29.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCNCHUMSLF
Held by institutions 97.9% 98.6% 44.7%
Institutions holding 999 927 490
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.1% +2.7% +1.3%
Institutions buying 568 558 256
Institutions selling 334 266 130
Buyers to sellers 1.70 2.10 1.97

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

CNCHUMSLF
CNC 1.00 0.51 0.08
HUM 0.51 1.00 0.14
SLF 0.08 0.14 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CNC, HUM and SLF?

Humana (HUM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Centene (CNC) $32.93B, Humana (HUM) $49.70B, Sun Life Financial (SLF) $45.56B.

Which stock is cheaper, CNC, HUM and SLF?

Sun Life Financial (SLF) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Centene (CNC) 22.6x, Humana (HUM) 38.9x, Sun Life Financial (SLF) 19.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Sun Life Financial (SLF) is cheapest (Centene (CNC) 13.6x, Humana (HUM) 48.0x, Sun Life Financial (SLF) 13.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Humana (HUM) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Centene (CNC) +9.7%, Humana (HUM) +18.3%.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Centene (CNC) returned the most: Centene (CNC) +107.3%, Humana (HUM) +42.0%, Sun Life Financial (SLF) +28.5%. Over five years, Sun Life Financial (SLF) compounded fastest (Centene (CNC) -0.8%/yr, Humana (HUM) -2.4%/yr, Sun Life Financial (SLF) +6.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Sun Life Financial (SLF) has been the steadiest (Centene (CNC) 47.4%, Humana (HUM) 48.0%, Sun Life Financial (SLF) 18.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CNC, HUM and SLF?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Sun Life Financial (SLF) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.