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

Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $245.6667.

CAH has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Cardinal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Leerink Partners reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $275.00 price target on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $255.00 price objective on Cardinal Health in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $237.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $244.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th.

Cardinal Health Stock Down 1.4%

Cardinal Health stock opened at $207.91 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $217.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.73. Cardinal Health has a twelve month low of $120.72 and a twelve month high of $233.60. The company has a market capitalization of $48.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.65.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.63 EPS 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. Cardinal Health’s revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Cardinal Health will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.5107 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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 CAH. Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Palladiem LLC purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 1,363.6% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 161 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

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.