Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Lifted to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Monday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $107.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $129.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $96.00 to $94.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Argus reduced their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $109.67.

Cardinal Health Stock Up 0.2 %

Cardinal Health stock opened at $96.91 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $23.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.07, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $98.03 and its 200 day moving average is $103.64. Cardinal Health has a 52-week low of $85.11 and a 52-week high of $116.04.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.13. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.25% and a negative return on equity of 54.74%. The business had revenue of $54.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health will post 7.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st were issued a dividend of $0.5056 per share. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. This is a boost from Cardinal Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 1st. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAH. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter worth about $258,499,000. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in Cardinal Health by 118.9% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,516,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,816,000 after acquiring an additional 823,520 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Cardinal Health by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,723,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $416,585,000 after acquiring an additional 598,002 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Cardinal Health during the 1st quarter worth about $56,454,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 265.6% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 657,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,577,000 after buying an additional 477,682 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cardinal Health Company Profile

Cardinal Health, Inc operates as a healthcare services and products company in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It provides customized solutions for hospitals, healthcare systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, physician offices, and patients in the home.