Cencora (NYSE:COR) Hits New 1-Year High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $250.42 and last traded at $247.21, with a volume of 106024 shares. The stock had previously closed at $245.38.

The company reported $3.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $79.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.68 billion. Cencora had a return on equity of 266.60% and a net margin of 0.65%.

Cencora Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This is a boost from Cencora’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Cencora’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Cencora from $263.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Leerink Partners cut their target price on shares of Cencora from $277.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $245.00 target price (down from $275.00) on shares of Cencora in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cencora from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Cencora from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cencora has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $271.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cencora news, Chairman Steven H. Collis sold 21,509 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.80, for a total transaction of $5,071,822.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 285,088 shares in the company, valued at $67,223,750.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 15.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Cencora during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in Cencora in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Cencora in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Cencora in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Cencora in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 97.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cencora Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $231.95 and its 200-day moving average is $230.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.08, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.93.

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.