Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $142.36.

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Mizuho upped their target price on Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Argus set a $148.00 price target on Cardinal Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th.

Cardinal Health Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of CAH stock opened at $145.46 on Friday. Cardinal Health has a 12-month low of $93.17 and a 12-month high of $147.27. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.73. The company has a market cap of $35.14 billion, a PE ratio of 27.14, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.61.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $54.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.33 billion. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 59.57% and a net margin of 0.59%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cardinal Health will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a $0.5056 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter valued at $246,748,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 154.6% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,151,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,756,000 after acquiring an additional 1,913,892 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $141,963,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 17,589.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 964,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,940,000 after acquiring an additional 959,486 shares during the period. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $92,811,000. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cardinal Health Company Profile

Cardinal Health, Inc operates as a healthcare services and products company in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It provides customized solutions for hospitals, healthcare systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, physician offices, and patients in the home.