Cencora (NYSE:COR) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $271.66 and last traded at $271.31, with a volume of 65499 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $268.48.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on COR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Cencora from $289.00 to $301.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Cencora from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Cencora from $251.00 to $274.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Cencora in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $280.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cencora from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.20.

Cencora Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $53.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $253.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $240.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.40, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.92.

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

Cencora Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Cencora’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Silvana Battaglia sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.24, for a total value of $1,211,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,724,197.76. This represents a 24.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Steven H. Collis sold 14,578 shares of Cencora stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.51, for a total value of $3,928,916.78. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 317,913 shares in the company, valued at $85,680,732.63. The trade was a 4.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,675 shares of company stock valued at $8,034,778 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of COR. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Cencora by 63.0% during the 4th 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 period. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in Cencora during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Cencora in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC boosted its stake in Cencora by 85.2% during the 4th quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Cencora during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 97.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.