Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Argus upped their target price on Cardinal Health from $232.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Monday, December 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $243.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $220.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.19.

Cardinal Health Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of CAH opened at $220.72 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $208.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $182.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.64. Cardinal Health has a 12-month low of $120.72 and a 12-month 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $65.63 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.93 EPS. Analysts predict that Cardinal Health will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.5107 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,441,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,461,179,000 after purchasing an additional 617,775 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Cardinal Health by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,509,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,570,647,000 after purchasing an additional 221,497 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Cardinal Health by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,529,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,336,750,000 after purchasing an additional 43,924 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 153.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,804,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $911,010,000 after buying an additional 3,511,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter worth $790,344,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Cardinal Health

Here are the key news stories impacting Cardinal Health this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results and underlying strength — Cardinal reported a Q4 EPS beat and revenue above expectations, with revenue up ~19% year-over-year, which analysts cite as supporting the stock’s upside. Cardinal Health’s (NYSE:CAH) Solid Earnings Are Supported By Other Strong Factors
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend confirmed — the Board approved a quarterly dividend of $0.5107 per share (payable Apr 15; record Apr 1). The cash return reinforces income appeal and signals confidence in cash flow. Cardinal Health Board of Directors Approves Quarterly Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst lift — JPMorgan raised its price target to $243, providing a tangible upside anchor for investors and helping sentiment. JPMorgan Chase Increases Cardinal Health Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks momentum & valuation coverage — CAH was added to Zacks’ Rank #1 momentum list and several Zacks pieces highlight undervaluation and a favorable long-term value case, which can attract momentum and value investors. Best Momentum Stock to Buy for February 13th Are Investors Undervaluing Cardinal Health?
• Neutral Sentiment: Kalkine notes logistics/reliability improvements on the NYSE composite — operational reliability updates are constructive but are incremental near-term drivers. Cardinal Health Boosts Logistics Reliability
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst Q&A from the earnings call — the transcript highlights management’s priorities and risk items; useful for longer-term fundamental assessment but not an immediate catalyst. The 5 Most Interesting Analyst Questions From Cardinal Health’s Q4 Earnings Call

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.