Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Cencora has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 16 brokerages, with 13 buy ratings and three holds. The average 12-month price target is approximately $370.85, above the reported opening price of $330.52.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting $4.48 in earnings per share versus the $4.35 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 5.1% year over year to $84.75 billion.
• Cencora authorized a $2 billion share buyback, representing up to 3.9% of outstanding shares, and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.60, or $2.40 annually, for a 0.7% yield.

Shares of Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the sixteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $370.8462.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Cencora in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $330.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 target price on Cencora in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Cencora from $331.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Cencora from $425.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Cencora from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th.

Cencora Price Performance

Cencora stock opened at $330.52 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.07 billion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.57. Cencora has a 52 week low of $244.82 and a 52 week high of $377.54. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $312.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $309.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.53.

Cencora (NYSE:COR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $84.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.00 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cencora will post 17.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Cencora Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. Cencora's dividend payout ratio is 17.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Elizabeth Campbell sold 11,300 shares of Cencora stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.12, for a total transaction of $3,662,556.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 19,455 shares in the company, valued at $6,305,754.60. The trade was a 36.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lauren M. Tyler acquired 550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $270.23 per share, with a total value of $148,626.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,359 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,177,932.57. The trade was a 14.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Cencora by 26,305.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 74,241,125 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Cencora in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,154,136,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Cencora by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,305,507 shares of the company's stock worth $3,142,935,000 after buying an additional 115,191 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 4,123,795 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Cencora by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,459,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,843,268,000 after buying an additional 169,055 shares during the period. 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.

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