Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $374.25.

COR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Cencora in a report on Thursday, August 6th. William Blair began coverage on shares of Cencora in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Cencora from $342.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cencora from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Cencora from $331.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th.

Cencora Price Performance

NYSE COR opened at $316.38 on Wednesday. Cencora has a fifty-two week low of $244.82 and a fifty-two week high of $377.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $300.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $312.40. The firm has a market cap of $60.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.53, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Cencora (NYSE:COR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $4.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.35 by $0.13. Cencora had a return on equity of 125.45% and a net margin of 0.79%.The company had revenue of $84.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Cencora will post 17.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cencora Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Cencora’s payout ratio is currently 17.83%.

Cencora announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 21st that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cencora news, Director Lauren M. Tyler acquired 550 shares of Cencora stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $270.23 per share, with a total value of $148,626.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,177,932.57. The trade was a 14.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cencora

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of COR. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cencora during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,419,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt bought a new stake in shares of Cencora in the second quarter valued at about $17,566,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Cencora during the second quarter worth about $7,055,000. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Cencora during the second quarter worth about $2,373,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in Cencora during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. 97.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Cencora

Cencora (NYSE:COR) is a global healthcare services and pharmaceutical distribution company that provides end-to-end solutions across the pharmaceutical supply chain. The company’s core activities include wholesale drug distribution, specialty drug distribution, and the operation of specialty pharmacies, complemented by logistics, cold-chain management and other fulfillment services designed to support complex and temperature-sensitive therapies.

Beyond physical distribution, Cencora offers a range of commercial and patient-focused services for pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare providers.