Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $157.43.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $181.00 price objective on Cardinal Health and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 price target (up from $157.00) on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Cardinal Health from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $136.00 to $179.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

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

Cardinal Health Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of Cardinal Health stock opened at $163.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.44, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $149.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.05. Cardinal Health has a 52 week low of $93.17 and a 52 week high of $166.32.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $54.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.33 billion. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.70% and a negative return on equity of 68.84%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a $0.5107 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This is a positive change from Cardinal Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Cardinal Health’s payout ratio is currently 31.51%.

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.