Empowered Funds LLC Makes New Investment in Cencora, Inc. $COR

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC acquired 24,932 shares of Cencora during the second quarter, valued at approximately $7.1 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 97.52% of the company.
• Cencora exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $4.48 in EPS and $84.75 billion in revenue, while revenue increased 5.1% year over year. The board also authorized a $2 billion share-repurchase program, and the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 13 Buy ratings and three Holds producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $370.85. Shares recently opened at $322.12.

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 24,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,055,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COR. Accent Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cencora by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Cencora by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 303 shares of the company's stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC increased its stake in Cencora by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 485 shares of the company's stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in Cencora by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 168 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Cencora by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 3,492 shares of the company's stock worth $1,180,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 97.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Elizabeth S. Campbell sold 11,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.12, for a total value 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 approximately $6,305,754.60. The trade was a 36.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lauren M. Tyler purchased 550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $270.23 per share, for a total transaction of $148,626.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,177,932.57. This represents a 14.44% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cencora Stock Performance

Shares of Cencora stock opened at $322.12 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.53, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.93. Cencora, Inc. has a 1 year low of $244.82 and a 1 year high of $377.54. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $307.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $310.51. The firm has a market cap of $61.47 billion, a PE ratio of 23.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.57.

Cencora (NYSE:COR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $4.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $84.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.31 billion. Cencora had a return on equity of 125.45% and a net margin of 0.79%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.00 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Cencora, Inc. will post 17.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cencora declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 21st that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows 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 board believes its stock is undervalued.

Cencora Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on COR. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Cencora from $425.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Cencora from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Cencora in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $330.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Cencora from $382.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Cencora from $331.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $370.85.

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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