Cencora (NYSE:COR) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on COR. Barclays upped their price objective on Cencora from $263.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $245.00 price target (down from $275.00) on shares of Cencora in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Cencora from $280.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Cencora from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Cencora from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cencora has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $271.20.

Cencora Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $234.44 and its 200-day moving average is $232.26. The stock has a market cap of $49.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.84.

Cencora Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This is an increase from Cencora’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Cencora’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.29%.

Insider Transactions at Cencora

In related news, Chairman Steven H. Collis sold 21,509 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,223,750.40. This trade represents a 7.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 93,018 shares of company stock valued at $22,478,942 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 15.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cencora

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of COR. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its position in shares of Cencora by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $769,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its stake in shares of Cencora by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cencora by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Cencora by 1.2% during the third 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 grew its stake in Cencora by 2.2% in the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 97.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.