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

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $139.36.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Cardinal Health in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $139.00 price target for the company. Finally, Argus set a $148.00 price target on Cardinal Health in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th.

Cardinal Health Trading Up 0.5 %

CAH stock opened at $132.09 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.64, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.66. Cardinal Health has a twelve month low of $93.17 and a twelve month high of $132.84. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $126.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.78.

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

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.5056 per share. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.69%.

Institutional Trading of Cardinal Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAH. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Cardinal Health by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 37,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,151,000 after buying an additional 7,692 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in Cardinal Health by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 12,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,416,000 after buying an additional 899 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp grew its holdings in Cardinal Health by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 11,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after buying an additional 1,924 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Cardinal Health by 50.1% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd grew its holdings in Cardinal Health by 24.1% in the 3rd quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 16,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,847,000 after buying an additional 3,247 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.