Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays started coverage on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an overweight rating and a $117.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Cardinal Health from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Argus upgraded Cardinal Health from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. SVB Leerink began coverage on Cardinal Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. They set an outperform rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reiterated an outperform rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Monday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cardinal Health currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $103.07.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

Shares of Cardinal Health stock opened at $103.54 on Wednesday. Cardinal Health has a fifty-two week low of $77.56 and a fifty-two week high of $116.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.76, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $109.56 and a 200 day moving average of $104.59.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $57.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $57.02 billion. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 0.30%. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.32 EPS. Analysts forecast that Cardinal Health will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a $0.5006 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.74%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 5,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health in the third quarter valued at $126,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC lifted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 7,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $660,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 44,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,863,000 after acquiring an additional 14,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

About Cardinal Health

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.