Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $140.14.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Cardinal Health from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Cardinal Health from $136.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Argus set a $148.00 target price on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

CAH stock opened at $129.37 on Monday. Cardinal Health has a 1-year low of $93.17 and a 1-year high of $139.50. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $129.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.69. The company has a market capitalization of $31.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.14, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.61.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.5056 per share. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other 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.