Cencora (NYSE:COR) vs. Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Critical Comparison

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) and Cencora (NYSE:COR) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, risk, institutional ownership and profitability.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Elevance Health and Cencora”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Elevance Health	$194.82 billion	0.37	$5.98 billion	$24.46	13.15
Cencora	$638.56 million	110.99	$1.51 billion	$7.95	45.98

Elevance Health has higher revenue and earnings than Cencora. Elevance Health is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cencora, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Elevance Health pays an annual dividend of $6.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Cencora pays an annual dividend of $2.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Elevance Health pays out 28.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cencora pays out 30.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Elevance Health has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years and Cencora has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years. Elevance Health is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Volatility and Risk

Elevance Health has a beta of 0.6, suggesting that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cencora has a beta of 0.63, suggesting that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

89.2% of Elevance Health shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.5% of Cencora shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Elevance Health shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 10.8% of Cencora shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Elevance Health and Cencora’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Elevance Health	2.84%	16.17%	5.78%
Cencora	0.60%	267.36%	4.31%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Elevance Health and Cencora, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Elevance Health	1	10	12	0	2.48
Cencora	0	3	9	0	2.75

Elevance Health currently has a consensus target price of $397.33, indicating a potential upside of 23.50%. Cencora has a consensus target price of $371.09, indicating a potential upside of 1.51%. Given Elevance Health’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Elevance Health is more favorable than Cencora.

Summary

Elevance Health beats Cencora on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Elevance Health

Elevance Health, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a health benefits company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Health Benefits, CarelonRx, Carelon Services, and Corporate & Other. It offers a variety of health plans and services to program members; health products; an array of fee-based administrative managed care services; and specialty and other insurance products and services, such as stop loss, dental, vision, life, disability, and supplemental health insurance benefits. The company operates in the pharmacy services business; and markets and offers pharmacy services, including pharmacy benefit management, as well as home delivery and specialty pharmacies, claims adjudication, formulary management, pharmacy networks, rebate administration, a prescription drug database, and member services. In addition, it provides healthcare-related services and capabilities, including utilization management, behavioral health, integrated care delivery, palliative care, payment integrity services, subrogation services, and health and wellness programs, as well as services related to data management, information technology, and business operations. Further, the company is involved in the National Government Services business. The company provides its services under the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Wellpoint, and Carelon brand names. The company was formerly known as Anthem, Inc. and changed its name to Elevance Health, Inc. in June 2022. Elevance Health, Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.

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.