Cencora (NYSE:COR) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Strong-Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cencora (NYSE:COR) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Friday.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Cencora from $236.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. SVB Leerink restated an outperform rating and issued a $275.00 price target on shares of Cencora in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Cencora from $285.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Cencora from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $249.63.

Cencora Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of COR opened at $241.28 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.45. Cencora has a 52 week low of $171.65 and a 52 week high of $247.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.93, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.89. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $228.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $231.36.

Cencora (NYSE:COR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $3.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.16. Cencora had a return on equity of 266.60% and a net margin of 0.65%. The firm had revenue of $74.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.32 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Cencora will post 13.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Cencora Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 26th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Cencora’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. sold 4,438,171 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.56, for a total transaction of $1,067,646,415.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,980,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,806,388,800. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. sold 4,438,171 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.56, for a total transaction of $1,067,646,415.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,980,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,806,388,800. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Steven H. Collis sold 10,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $2,388,900.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 285,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,323,746.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,337,283 shares of company stock valued at $1,476,300,791. 15.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cencora

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Cencora during the first quarter worth about $25,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cencora during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cencora in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Cencora in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Cencora during the first quarter worth $30,000. 97.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.