Critical Review: Cencora (NYSE:COR) versus Pacific Health Care Organization (OTCMKTS:PFHO)

Pacific Health Care Organization (OTCMKTS:PFHO) and Cencora (NYSE:COR) are both medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, dividends and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Pacific Health Care Organization and Cencora”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pacific Health Care Organization	$6.07 million	2.17	$880,000.00	$0.11	9.36
Cencora	$321.33 billion	0.20	$1.55 billion	$7.95	42.68

Cencora has higher revenue and earnings than Pacific Health Care Organization. Pacific Health Care Organization 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

Pacific Health Care Organization has a beta of 0.14, indicating that its share price is 86% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cencora has a beta of 0.63, indicating that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Pacific Health Care Organization and Cencora, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pacific Health Care Organization	0	0	0	0	0.00
Cencora	0	4	8	0	2.67

Cencora has a consensus target price of $371.09, indicating a potential upside of 9.38%. Given Cencora’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Cencora is more favorable than Pacific Health Care Organization.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

97.5% of Cencora shares are held by institutional investors. 61.6% of Pacific Health Care Organization shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 10.8% of Cencora shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pacific Health Care Organization	21.71%	11.80%	11.21%
Cencora	0.48%	227.15%	4.30%

Summary

Cencora beats Pacific Health Care Organization on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pacific Health Care Organization

Pacific Health Care Organization, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty workers' compensation cost containment company in the United States. It is involved in managing and administering health care organizations (HCOs) and medical provider networks (MPNs). The company also provides claims-related services, including utilization review, medical case management, medical bill review, employee advocate services, workers' compensation carve-outs, expert witness testimony, and Medicare set-aside services. It serves insurers, third party administrators, self-administered employers, municipalities, and other industries. The company was formerly known as Clear Air, Inc. and changed its name to Pacific Health Care Organization, Inc. in January 2001. Pacific Health Care Organization, Inc. was incorporated in 1970 and is based in Irvine, California.

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.