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

Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $146.43.

CAH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $156.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th.

Institutional Trading of Cardinal Health

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its stake in Cardinal Health by 11.2% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 6,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $833,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. CSS LLC IL boosted its stake in Cardinal Health by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. CSS LLC IL now owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,323,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Cardinal Health by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Cardinal Health Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Cardinal Health stock opened at $155.19 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $130.61. Cardinal Health has a 12-month low of $93.17 and a 12-month high of $156.80. The firm has a market cap of $37.04 billion, a PE ratio of 28.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.66.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $54.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.33 billion. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 59.57% and a net margin of 0.59%. Cardinal Health’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cardinal Health will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.5107 per share. This is an increase from Cardinal Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.83%.

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.