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

Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $136.87.

Several research analysts have weighed in on CAH shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cardinal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 3rd. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $139.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $132.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAH opened at $127.35 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $116.88. Cardinal Health has a one year low of $93.17 and a one year high of $132.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.76, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.63.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.19. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.59% and a negative return on equity of 59.57%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cardinal Health will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.5056 per share. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Cardinal Health’s payout ratio is 37.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAH. Good Life Advisors LLC raised its stake in Cardinal Health by 96.0% during the third quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 6,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 2,987 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Cardinal Health by 6.4% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 4,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in Cardinal Health by 8.1% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Cardinal Health by 79.4% during the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 3,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 1,718 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Cardinal Health by 61.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 2,103 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.