CNC vs. DGX: Centene vs. Quest Diagnostics Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Centene (CNC) and Quest Diagnostics (DGX) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Centene (CNC) and Quest Diagnostics (DGX) both belong to the Health Care Providers & Services industry, though CNC is classified under Managed Health Care while DGX falls under Health Care Services.

Company profile comparison for Centene (CNC) and Quest Diagnostics (DGX)
Profile Item	CNC	DGX
Name	Centene Corp.	Quest Diagnostics Incorporated
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Health Care	Health Care
GICS Industry Group	Health Care Equipment & Services	Health Care Equipment & Services
GICS Industry	Health Care Providers & Services	Health Care Providers & Services
GICS Sub-Industry	Managed Health Care	Health Care Services
Market Capitalization	34.53 billion USD	28.21 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	December 13, 2001	December 17, 1996
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

CNC

DGX

GSPC

Centene (CNC) vs. Quest Diagnostics (DGX), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Centene (CNC) and Quest Diagnostics (DGX). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Centene (CNC) and Quest Diagnostics (DGX). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Centene (CNC) and Quest Diagnostics (DGX)
Metric	CNC	DGX
Total Return (1Y)	84.77%	45.88%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	-0.97%	27.45%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-1.48%	14.84%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

CNC

DGX

GSPC

Centene (CNC) vs. Quest Diagnostics (DGX), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Centene (CNC) and Quest Diagnostics (DGX). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Centene (CNC) and Quest Diagnostics (DGX)
Metric	CNC	DGX
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	46.34%	24.06%
Beta (5Y)	1.07	0.54
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-74.07%	-28.62%
Avg. Volume (3M)	4.63M	1.00M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

CNC and DGX are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Centene (CNC) and Quest Diagnostics (DGX)
Metric	CNC	DGX
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.74	1.73
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	2.71	3.16

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) at 15.32% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Centene (CNC) at 6.74% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for DGX.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

6.74%

Max: 47.61%
Q3: 14.36%
CNC: 6.74%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

DGX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

15.32%

Max: 47.61%
DGX: 15.32%
Q3: 14.36%
Median: 5.45%
Q1: -10.67%
Min: -47.01%

Centene (CNC) vs. Quest Diagnostics (DGX): A comparison of their ROE against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) at 9.54% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Centene (CNC) at 0.81%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.81%

Max: 29.35%
Q3: 9.33%
Median: 2.18%
CNC: 0.81%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

DGX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

9.54%

Max: 29.35%
DGX: 9.54%
Q3: 9.33%
Median: 2.18%
Q1: -6.29%
Min: -28.46%

Centene (CNC) vs. Quest Diagnostics (DGX): A comparison of their net margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) at 15.63% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Centene (CNC) at 0.74%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.74%

Max: 35.43%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
CNC: 0.74%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

DGX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

15.63%

Max: 35.43%
DGX: 15.63%
Q3: 14.14%
Median: 6.81%
Q1: -0.28%
Min: -16.29%

Centene (CNC) vs. Quest Diagnostics (DGX): A comparison of their operating margin against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Centene (CNC) and Quest Diagnostics (DGX)
Metric	CNC	DGX
ROE (TTM)	6.74%	15.32%
ROA (TTM)	2.68%	6.61%
Net Margin (TTM)	0.81%	9.54%
Operating Margin (TTM)	0.74%	15.63%
Gross Margin (TTM)	11.34%	33.18%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Centene (CNC) at 19.44% and Quest Diagnostics (DGX) at 11.78% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Centene (CNC) vs. Quest Diagnostics (DGX): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) at 13.78% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while Centene (CNC) at -314.42% falls below its industry range, a notably weak earnings reading.

Centene (CNC) vs. Quest Diagnostics (DGX): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Centene (CNC) and Quest Diagnostics (DGX)
Metric	CNC	DGX
Revenue Growth (YoY)	19.44%	11.78%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	10.45%	3.74%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-314.42%	13.78%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	3.16%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) at 1.70 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Centene (CNC) at 1.16 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for CNC.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.16

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
Q1: 1.37
CNC: 1.16
Min: 0.30

DGX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.70

Max: 7.59
Q3: 4.00
Median: 1.98
DGX: 1.70
Q1: 1.37
Min: 0.30

Centene (CNC) vs. Quest Diagnostics (DGX): A comparison of their current ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Centene (CNC) at 0.70 and Quest Diagnostics (DGX) at 0.80 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.70

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
CNC: 0.70
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00

DGX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.80

Max: 1.88
Q3: 0.91
DGX: 0.80
Median: 0.58
Q1: 0.16
Min: 0.00

Centene (CNC) vs. Quest Diagnostics (DGX): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Centene (CNC) and Quest Diagnostics (DGX)
Metric	CNC	DGX
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.16	1.70
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.70	0.80
Net Debt / EBITDA	-1.71	2.38

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Centene (CNC) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Quest Diagnostics (DGX) reports a yield of 1.33%, ranking against industry peers normally.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

CNC: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

DGX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.33%

DGX: 1.33%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Centene (CNC) vs. Quest Diagnostics (DGX): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Centene (CNC) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Quest Diagnostics (DGX) reports a payout of 25.10%, ranking against industry peers normally.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.00%

CNC: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

DGX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

25.10%

DGX: 25.10%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Centene (CNC) vs. Quest Diagnostics (DGX): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Centene (CNC) and Quest Diagnostics (DGX)
Metric	CNC	DGX
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	1.33%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	25.10%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Centene (CNC) at 23.97 and Quest Diagnostics (DGX) at 25.46 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

23.97

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
CNC: 23.97
Q1: 21.19
Min: 4.21

DGX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

25.46

Max: 80.41
Q3: 47.62
Median: 29.93
DGX: 25.46
Q1: 21.19
Min: 4.21

Centene (CNC) vs. Quest Diagnostics (DGX): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Centene (CNC) at 0.19 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while Quest Diagnostics (DGX) at 2.38 prices around its industry’s middle — CNC costs less per dollar of sales, though read it alongside growth and margins.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

0.19

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
CNC: 0.19
Min: 0.03

DGX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

2.38

Max: 8.80
Q3: 4.32
DGX: 2.38
Median: 2.13
Q1: 1.10
Min: 0.03

Centene (CNC) vs. Quest Diagnostics (DGX): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Centene (CNC) at 1.55 sits in the lower P/B ratio quartile against book while Quest Diagnostics (DGX) at 3.68 is valued near its industry’s middle — CNC is cheaper on assets, though weigh it against ROE and asset quality.

CNC

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

1.55

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
Median: 3.00
Q1: 1.73
CNC: 1.55
Min: -1.31

DGX

Health Care Equipment & Services industry group

3.68

Max: 11.68
Q3: 6.12
DGX: 3.68
Median: 3.00
Q1: 1.73
Min: -1.31

Centene (CNC) vs. Quest Diagnostics (DGX): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Health Care Equipment & Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Centene (CNC) and Quest Diagnostics (DGX)
Metric	CNC	DGX
P/E Ratio (TTM)	23.97	25.46
P/S Ratio (TTM)	0.19	2.38
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.55	3.68
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	8.93%	3.09%