Comparing Cencora (COR) and Its Peers

Cencora (NYSE:COR) is one of 233 public companies in the “Healthcare Providers & Services” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Cencora to similar businesses based on the strength of its profitability, risk, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

97.5% of Cencora shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.8% of shares of all “Healthcare Providers & Services” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Cencora shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 15.0% of shares of all “Healthcare Providers & Services” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Cencora and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cencora	0.79%	125.45%	4.18%
Cencora Competitors	-7.78%	-141.29%	-1.53%

Volatility and Risk

Cencora has a beta of 0.58, meaning that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cencora’s peers have a beta of 0.97, meaning that their average stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Cencora and its peers revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cencora	$321.33 billion	$1.55 billion	24.64
Cencora Competitors	$21.24 billion	$288.54 million	7.17

Cencora has higher revenue and earnings than its peers. Cencora is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Cencora and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cencora	0	4	14	0	2.78
Cencora Competitors	1843	7701	13241	815	2.55

Cencora presently has a consensus target price of $368.38, suggesting a potential upside of 11.09%. As a group, “Healthcare Providers & Services” companies have a potential upside of 15.77%. Given Cencora’s peers higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Cencora has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Dividends

Cencora pays an annual dividend of $2.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Cencora pays out 17.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Healthcare Providers & Services” companies pay a dividend yield of 1.5% and pay out 25.2% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Cencora has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years.

Summary

Cencora beats its peers on 10 of the 15 factors compared.

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. This segment also distributes plasma and other blood products, injectable pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and other specialty products; and provides other services to physicians who specialize in various disease states, such as oncology, as well as to other healthcare providers, including hospitals and dialysis clinics. Its International Healthcare Solutions segment offers international pharmaceutical wholesale and related service, and global commercialization services; distributes pharmaceuticals, other healthcare products, and related services to pharmacies, doctors, health centers, and hospitals primarily in Europe; and provides specialty transportation and logistics services for the biopharmaceutical industry. The company was formerly known as AmerisourceBergen Corporation and changed its name to Cencora, Inc. in August 2023. Cencora, Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.