Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Upgraded to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $150.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $140.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on CAH. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Cardinal Health from $136.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Cardinal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, November 3rd. Bank of America raised shares of Cardinal Health from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $132.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $144.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $136.87.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

Cardinal Health stock opened at $127.41 on Wednesday. Cardinal Health has a 1 year low of $93.17 and a 1 year high of $132.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $122.26 and its 200-day moving average is $114.83. The company has a market cap of $30.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.77, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.63.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.19. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 59.57% and a net margin of 0.59%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cardinal Health will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $0.5056 dividend. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 240,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,435,000 after buying an additional 3,576 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,749,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,298,000 after acquiring an additional 42,082 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,474,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,976,000 after acquiring an additional 33,388 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the third quarter worth $371,000. Finally, Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter valued at $258,000. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

About Cardinal Health

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.