Cencora (NYSE:COR) Hits New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Cencora's shares reached a new 52-week high at $330.00, with a recent trading value of $328.97 and a market cap of $63.98 billion.
• Analysts have differing ratings for Cencora, with some cutting its rating from "buy" to "hold," while others set target prices ranging from $300.00 to $340.00.
• The company reported earnings of $4.00 per share in its latest quarter, exceeding expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.55, representing a yield of 0.7%.

Shares of Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $330.00 and last traded at $328.97, with a volume of 169043 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $328.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on COR. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cencora from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Evercore ISI set a $340.00 target price on shares of Cencora in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $330.00 target price on shares of Cencora and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Cencora in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Cencora from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $324.91.

Cencora Trading Up 0.4%

The stock has a market cap of $63.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.93, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.63. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $301.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $293.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.64, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Cencora (NYSE:COR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $4.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $80.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $80.34 billion. Cencora had a net margin of 0.60% and a return on equity of 267.36%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cencora, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Cencora Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Cencora's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert P. Mauch sold 5,097 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.80, for a total value of $1,665,699.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 37,940 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,398,792. This represents a 11.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Steven H. Collis sold 31,350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.86, for a total value of $9,087,111.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 305,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,671,942.18. This represents a 9.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 41,544 shares of company stock worth $12,230,941. 10.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cencora

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of COR. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cencora by 70.0% in the 2nd quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 85 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cencora by 106.7% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 93 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Cencora during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cencora by 69.4% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 105 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Cencora during the first quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 97.52% of the company's stock.

Cencora Company Profile

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.

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