Cencora (NYSE:COR) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $252.22 and last traded at $250.38, with a volume of 84350 shares. The stock had previously closed at $249.69.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on COR shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Cencora from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com lowered Cencora from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Cencora from $287.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective (down from $275.00) on shares of Cencora in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Cencora from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.20.

Cencora Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $49.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.84, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $234.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $232.53.

Cencora Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. This is a boost from Cencora’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Cencora’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Steven H. Collis sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.97, for a total value of $12,198,500.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 326,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,670,111.29. This represents a 13.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 93,018 shares of company stock worth $22,478,942. Company insiders own 15.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cencora

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cencora by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $769,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its position in shares of Cencora by 4.7% in the second quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Cencora by 1.0% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Cencora by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $848,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Cencora by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. 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.