Cencora (NYSE:COR) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cencora (NYSE:COR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Cencora from $289.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Cencora from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Cencora in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Cencora from $237.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.20.

Cencora Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:COR opened at $258.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $247.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $239.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.40, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.51. Cencora has a 52-week low of $214.77 and a 52-week high of $263.70.

Cencora (NYSE:COR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.50 by $0.23. Cencora had a net margin of 0.46% and a return on equity of 328.62%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cencora will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cencora Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Cencora’s payout ratio is 31.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cencora news, CEO Robert P. Mauch sold 4,970 shares of Cencora stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $1,267,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 51,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,022,850. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Silvana Battaglia sold 5,000 shares of Cencora stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.24, for a total transaction of $1,211,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,374 shares in the company, valued at $3,724,197.76. This represents a 24.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,648 shares of company stock valued at $3,382,462. 10.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cencora

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Cencora by 63.0% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in Cencora in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Cencora in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in Cencora in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC increased its position in Cencora by 85.2% in the fourth quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.52% of the company’s stock.

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.