Short Interest in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Expands By 21.1%

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 6,045,787 shares, a growth of 21.1% from the February 26th total of 4,994,109 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,951,550 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days. Currently, 2.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Cardinal Health Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of CAH stock opened at $212.11 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $217.37 and a 200-day moving average of $197.66. Cardinal Health has a 12-month low of $120.72 and a 12-month high of $233.60. The company has a market capitalization of $49.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.64.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $65.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.88 billion. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.68% and a negative return on equity of 92.50%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Cardinal Health will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 1st. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cardinal Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Cardinal Health by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 9,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,902,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,184,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR raised its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 5,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on CAH. Argus increased their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $232.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $244.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Zacks Research raised Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Leerink Partners reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $275.00 target price on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Cardinal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.67.

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.