Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR) Receives $370.85 Average Price Target from Analysts

Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $370.8462.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Cencora from $412.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Cencora from $342.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price objective on Cencora in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Cencora from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Cencora in a report on Thursday, August 6th.

Cencora Price Performance

Shares of Cencora stock opened at $323.99 on Friday. Cencora has a 52 week low of $244.82 and a 52 week high of $377.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.53. The stock has a market cap of $61.83 billion, a PE ratio of 24.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $314.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $309.06.

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

Cencora Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Cencora’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.83%.

Cencora declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Cencora

In other news, Director Lauren M. Tyler acquired 550 shares of Cencora stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the director owned 4,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,177,932.57. This represents a 14.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth S. Campbell sold 11,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.12, for a total transaction of $3,662,556.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 19,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,305,754.60. The trade was a 36.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cencora

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Cencora by 26,305.7% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 74,523,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,088,617,000 after buying an additional 74,241,125 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Cencora during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,154,136,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cencora by 160.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,700,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,262,956,000 after purchasing an additional 4,123,795 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Cencora in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,056,625,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cencora in the fourth quarter worth approximately $822,506,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.52% of the company’s stock.

Cencora Company Profile

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.