Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Hits New 12-Month High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $192.05 and last traded at $193.4490, with a volume of 297507 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $164.47.

The company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.33. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 74.45% and a net margin of 0.70%.The business had revenue of $64.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Cardinal Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.650-9.850 EPS.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st were issued a dividend of $0.5107 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 1st. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CAH shares. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Leerink Partners raised their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cardinal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cardinal Health

In other news, insider Ola M. Snow sold 28,151 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.94, for a total transaction of $4,192,809.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,298,293.14. This trade represents a 64.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jessica L. Mayer sold 38,078 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.82, for a total value of $5,666,767.96. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 48,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,211,370.74. This represents a 44.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 271,676 shares of company stock worth $40,489,525. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 3.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,389,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,069,005,000 after buying an additional 205,539 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Cardinal Health by 40.0% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,175,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $575,327,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193,983 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Cardinal Health in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $584,420,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Cardinal Health by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,143,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,012,000 after purchasing an additional 105,154 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 7.3% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,037,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $510,347,000 after buying an additional 207,750 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cardinal Health Stock Up 15.3%

The firm has a market cap of $45.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.40, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $154.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.98.

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.