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

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $142.36.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CAH shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho upped their target price on Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Cardinal Health from $136.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

NYSE CAH opened at $145.46 on Friday. Cardinal Health has a 1-year low of $93.17 and a 1-year high of $147.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.14 billion, a PE ratio of 27.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.5056 per share. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CAH. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter worth $246,748,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted 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 purchasing an additional 1,913,892 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter valued at about $141,963,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Cardinal Health by 17,589.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 964,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,940,000 after purchasing an additional 959,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter worth about $92,811,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.