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

Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $245.20.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CAH. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Cardinal Health from $220.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup raised Cardinal Health from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $244.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $243.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAH opened at $226.27 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $213.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $186.16. The company has a market capitalization of $53.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.64. Cardinal Health has a 1 year low of $120.72 and a 1 year high of $230.81.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.32. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.68% and a negative return on equity of 92.50%. The company had revenue of $65.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cardinal Health will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.5107 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 1st. Cardinal Health’s payout ratio is presently 29.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAH. Strategy Asset Managers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $775,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Cardinal Health by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 37,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,938,000 after acquiring an additional 5,030 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the third quarter worth $2,090,000. Atle Fund Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 13.1% during the third quarter. Atle Fund Management AB now owns 30,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,755,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 10.8% during the third quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 196,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,790,000 after purchasing an additional 19,155 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cardinal Health

Cardinal Health is a multinational healthcare services and products company headquartered in Dublin, Ohio. Tracing its roots to the early 1970s, the company has grown into a major provider of supply chain and distribution services for the healthcare sector. Cardinal Health operates across a range of service lines that support hospitals, health systems, pharmacies, physician offices and clinical laboratories.

The company’s core activities include the wholesale distribution of branded and generic pharmaceuticals, the supply and distribution of medical-surgical products, and the provision of logistics and inventory management solutions.