Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $133.01 and last traded at $132.62, with a volume of 199689 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.12.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on CAH. Bank of America raised shares of Cardinal Health from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $132.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $136.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upgraded Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $144.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Argus set a $148.00 target price on Cardinal Health in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $139.36.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $127.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.00. The company has a market cap of $31.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.66.

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 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.5056 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.69%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAH. 111 Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at $560,000. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter worth about $9,576,000. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV raised its holdings in Cardinal Health by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 4,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its position in Cardinal Health by 2,320.0% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 63,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,516,000 after purchasing an additional 60,923 shares during the period. Finally, Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $594,000. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

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.