Contrasting Cencora (NYSE:COR) and Enhabit (NYSE:EHAB)

Cencora (NYSE:COR) and Enhabit (NYSE:EHAB) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and risk.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cencora	0.78%	135.20%	4.20%
Enhabit	-0.43%	4.71%	2.23%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

97.5% of Cencora shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Cencora shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.4% of Enhabit shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Cencora and Enhabit, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cencora	0	3	12	0	2.80
Enhabit	1	6	2	0	2.11

Cencora presently has a consensus price target of $388.42, suggesting a potential upside of 48.73%. Enhabit has a consensus price target of $13.57, suggesting a potential downside of 1.55%. Given Cencora’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Cencora is more favorable than Enhabit.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Cencora and Enhabit”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cencora	$321.33 billion	0.16	$1.55 billion	$8.32	31.39
Enhabit	$1.06 billion	0.67	-$4.60 million	($0.09)	-153.17

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

Volatility and Risk

Cencora has a beta of 0.64, suggesting that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Enhabit has a beta of 1.26, suggesting that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Cencora beats Enhabit on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Enhabit

Enhabit, Inc. provides home health and hospice services in the United States. Its home health services include patient education, pain management, wound care and dressing changes, cardiac rehabilitation, infusion therapy, pharmaceutical administration, and skilled observation and assessment services; practices to treat chronic diseases and conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, low vision, spinal stenosis, Parkinson's disease, osteoporosis, complex wound care and chronic pain, along with disease-specific plans for patients with diabetes, congestive heart failure, post-orthopedic surgery, or injury and respiratory diseases; and physical, occupational and speech therapists provide therapy services. The company offers hospice services, including pain and symptom management, palliative and dietary counseling, social worker visits, spiritual counseling, and bereavement counseling services to meet the individual physical, emotional, spiritual, and psychosocial needs of terminally ill patients and their families. The company was formerly known as Encompass Health Home Health Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Enhabit, Inc. in March 2022. Enhabit, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is based in Dallas, Texas.