Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts remain broadly bullish on Cencora: Fifteen firms give the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with 13 buys and two holds. The average 12-month price target is $374.25, while recent targets range as high as $430 from UBS.
• Cencora exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $4.48 in adjusted EPS versus the $4.35 consensus and revenue of $84.75 billion, up 5.1% year over year. Analysts expect full-year EPS of $17.84.
• The company authorized a $2 billion share repurchase program covering up to 3.9% of outstanding shares and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, equivalent to a 0.7% yield.

Shares of Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $374.25.

COR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Cencora in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Cencora from $382.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Cencora in a report on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Cencora from $412.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cencora from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday.

Cencora Stock Performance

Shares of COR stock opened at $333.21 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $64.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.57. The business's 50 day moving average is $296.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $313.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.53. Cencora has a 12-month low of $244.82 and a 12-month high of $377.54.

Cencora (NYSE:COR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $4.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $84.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $84.31 billion. Cencora had a return on equity of 125.45% and a net margin of 0.79%.The business's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.00 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Cencora will post 17.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cencora announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 21st that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Cencora Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Cencora's payout ratio is presently 17.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lauren M. Tyler bought 550 shares of Cencora stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $270.23 per share, with a total value of $148,626.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Cencora

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. United Bank grew its holdings in shares of Cencora by 4.5% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 7,032 shares of the company's stock worth $2,109,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cencora in the second quarter worth about $595,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in shares of Cencora by 7.9% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 85,534 shares of the company's stock worth $25,647,000 after buying an additional 6,244 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Cencora by 94.1% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,585 shares of the company's stock worth $747,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in Cencora by 26.0% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 73,452 shares of the company's stock worth $22,025,000 after acquiring an additional 15,154 shares during the last quarter. 97.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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