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

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $224.7333.

Several analysts recently issued reports on CAH shares. Robert W. Baird set a $250.00 target price on Cardinal Health in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Leerink Partners set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Monday, December 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $243.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho set a $222.00 target price on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $224.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aventura Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in Cardinal Health by 1,363.6% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 161 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Cardinal Health by 75.0% in the second quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 175 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Cardinal Health by 38.7% during the fourth quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Cardinal Health during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

Shares of Cardinal Health stock opened at $214.85 on Friday. Cardinal Health has a fifty-two week low of $120.72 and a fifty-two week high of $216.51. The company has a market capitalization of $51.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a fifty day moving average of $206.24 and a 200 day moving average of $178.02.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.33. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 84.37% and a net margin of 0.68%.The business had revenue of $64.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.41 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Cardinal Health will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a $0.5107 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. Cardinal Health’s payout ratio is currently 30.77%.

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.