Head to Head Comparison: Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) vs. Cencora (NYSE:COR)

Cencora (NYSE:COR) and Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) are both large-cap healthcare companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.5% of Cencora shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.0% of Cigna Group shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Cencora shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Cigna Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Cencora and Cigna Group”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cencora	$321.33 billion	0.19	$1.55 billion	$13.46	23.88
Cigna Group	$274.90 billion	0.27	$5.96 billion	$24.17	11.61

Cigna Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Cencora. Cigna Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cencora, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Cencora has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cigna Group has a beta of 0.31, indicating that its stock price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Cencora pays an annual dividend of $2.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Cigna Group pays an annual dividend of $6.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Cencora pays out 17.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cigna Group pays out 25.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Cencora has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years and Cigna Group has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Cencora and Cigna Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cencora	0.79%	125.45%	4.18%
Cigna Group	2.27%	19.75%	5.34%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Cencora and Cigna Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cencora	0	3	13	0	2.81
Cigna Group	0	8	15	0	2.65

Cencora currently has a consensus price target of $370.85, suggesting a potential upside of 15.37%. Cigna Group has a consensus price target of $337.10, suggesting a potential upside of 20.17%. Given Cigna Group’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Cigna Group is more favorable than Cencora.

Summary

Cigna Group beats Cencora on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cencora

Cencora, Inc. sources and distributes pharmaceutical products. The company's U.S. Healthcare Solutions segment distributes pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter healthcare products, home healthcare supplies and equipment, and related services to acute care hospitals and health systems, independent and chain retail pharmacies, mail order pharmacies, medical clinics, long-term care and alternate site pharmacies, and other customers; provides pharmacy management, staffing, and other consulting services; supply management software to retail and institutional healthcare providers; packaging solutions to various institutional and retail healthcare providers; clinical trial support, product post-approval, and commercialization support services; data analytics, outcomes research, and additional services for biotechnology and pharmaceutical manufacturers; pharmaceuticals, vaccines, parasiticides, diagnostics, micro feed ingredients, and other products to the companion animal and production animal markets; and sales force services to manufacturers. This segment also distributes plasma and other blood products, injectable pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and other specialty products; and provides other services to physicians who specialize in various disease states, such as oncology, as well as to other healthcare providers, including hospitals and dialysis clinics. Its International Healthcare Solutions segment offers international pharmaceutical wholesale and related service, and global commercialization services; distributes pharmaceuticals, other healthcare products, and related services to pharmacies, doctors, health centers, and hospitals primarily in Europe; and provides specialty transportation and logistics services for the biopharmaceutical industry. The company was formerly known as AmerisourceBergen Corporation and changed its name to Cencora, Inc. in August 2023. Cencora, Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.

About Cigna Group

The Cigna Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and related products and services in the United States. Its Evernorth Health Services segment provides a range of coordinated and point solution health services, including pharmacy benefits, home delivery pharmacy, specialty pharmacy, distribution, and care delivery and management solutions to health plans, employers, government organizations, and health care providers. The company's Cigna Healthcare segment offers medical, pharmacy, behavioral health, dental, and other products and services for insured and self-insured customers; Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement, and Medicare Part D plans for seniors, as well as individual health insurance plans; and health care coverage in its international markets, as well as health care benefits for mobile individuals and employees of multinational organizations. In addition, it offers permanent insurance contracts sold to corporations to provide coverage on the lives of certain employees for financing employer-paid future benefit obligations. The company distributes its products and services through insurance brokers and consultants; directly to employers, unions and other groups, or individuals; and private and public exchanges. The company was formerly known as Cigna Corporation and changed its name to The Cigna Group in February 2023. The Cigna Group was founded in 1792 and is headquartered in Bloomfield, Connecticut.