Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Strong-Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Monday morning.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Cardinal Health from $134.00 to $128.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Argus reduced their target price on Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $96.00 to $94.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Leerink Partnrs reiterated an outperform rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cardinal Health has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $109.67.

Cardinal Health Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE CAH opened at $104.88 on Monday. Cardinal Health has a fifty-two week low of $85.11 and a fifty-two week high of $116.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $100.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.68. The stock has a market cap of $25.55 billion, a PE ratio of 46.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.64.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.13. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.25% and a negative return on equity of 54.74%. The business had revenue of $54.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health will post 7.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.5056 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. This is a positive change from Cardinal Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is 88.89%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mariner LLC boosted its position in Cardinal Health by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 48,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,173,000 after acquiring an additional 640 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 4.7% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 202,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,599,000 after buying an additional 9,058 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 673.5% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 45,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,959,000 after acquiring an additional 39,704 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 3,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 11.5% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 321,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,915,000 after acquiring an additional 33,043 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.