Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $251.7333.

A number of research firms have weighed in on CAH. Mizuho raised their price target on Cardinal Health from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Evercore cut their price objective on Cardinal Health from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Cardinal Health from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Cardinal Health from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Cardinal Health from $260.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cardinal Health

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAH. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Cardinal Health by 198.3% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 21,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 14,034 shares during the last quarter. Palladiem LLC purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

Cardinal Health stock opened at $227.30 on Friday. Cardinal Health has a fifty-two week low of $137.75 and a fifty-two week high of $243.21. The stock has a market cap of $53.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $222.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $215.20.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.79 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $60.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.10 billion. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.62% and a negative return on equity of 92.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.35 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Cardinal Health will post 10.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were paid a dividend of $0.5158 per share. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Cardinal Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 1st. Cardinal Health’s payout ratio is 31.50%.

About Cardinal Health

Cardinal Health is a multinational healthcare services and products company headquartered in Dublin, Ohio. Tracing its roots to the early 1970s, the company has grown into a major provider of supply chain and distribution services for the healthcare sector. Cardinal Health operates across a range of service lines that support hospitals, health systems, pharmacies, physician offices and clinical laboratories.

The company’s core activities include the wholesale distribution of branded and generic pharmaceuticals, the supply and distribution of medical-surgical products, and the provision of logistics and inventory management solutions.