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

Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $133.29.

Several brokerages have issued reports on CAH. TD Cowen raised shares of Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $144.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $127.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays raised their target price on Cardinal Health from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Cardinal Health from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $101.00 to $127.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cardinal Health

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Cardinal Health by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 24,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,893,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 3,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the period. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC bought a new stake in Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $258,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Cardinal Health by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 4,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its position in Cardinal Health by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 43,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,182,000 after purchasing an additional 6,260 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Cardinal Health Stock Up 1.2 %

Cardinal Health stock opened at $127.81 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $120.92 and a 200-day moving average of $112.47. Cardinal Health has a 52-week low of $93.17 and a 52-week high of $127.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.63.

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

Cardinal Health Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $0.5056 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Cardinal Health’s payout ratio is currently 39.30%.

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.