Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Short Interest Down 6.8% in January

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,420,000 shares, a decline of 6.8% from the January 15th total of 4,740,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,300,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAH traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $126.35. 1,620,302 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,327,426. The company’s 50-day moving average is $122.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.57. The company has a market capitalization of $30.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.57, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.63. Cardinal Health has a 1 year low of $93.17 and a 1 year high of $132.84.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.19. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.59% and a negative return on equity of 59.57%. Equities analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.5056 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. Cardinal Health’s payout ratio is 37.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAH. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Cardinal Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new position in Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Cardinal Health by 69.8% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in Cardinal Health in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CAH. Bank of America raised shares of Cardinal Health from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Cardinal Health from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $136.87.

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.