Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Upgraded to “Buy” at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $145.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $132.00.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Cardinal Health from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Argus lifted their price objective on Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Cardinal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, November 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cardinal Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.85.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAH opened at $119.48 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $118.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.56. Cardinal Health has a 1 year low of $93.17 and a 1 year high of $126.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.92 billion, a PE ratio of 23.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.63.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $52.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.90 billion. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.56% and a negative return on equity of 56.56%. Cardinal Health’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.73 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Cardinal Health will post 7.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.5056 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cardinal Health by 69.8% in the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Cardinal Health in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.