Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

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

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on CAH. UBS Group increased their price target on Cardinal Health from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an overweight rating and a $117.00 price target on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $96.00 to $94.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs restated an outperform rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Monday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cardinal Health has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $105.79.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CAH opened at $98.91 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $109.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.09. Cardinal Health has a 52-week low of $77.56 and a 52-week high of $116.04. The company has a market capitalization of $24.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.71.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $54.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.05 billion. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.25% and a negative return on equity of 54.74%. Cardinal Health’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. Analysts forecast that Cardinal Health will post 7.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a $0.5006 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.89%.

Institutional Trading of Cardinal Health

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter worth about $258,499,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 82.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,128,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,390,000 after acquiring an additional 1,862,291 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in Cardinal Health by 118.9% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,516,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,816,000 after acquiring an additional 823,520 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter worth $464,800,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 1,941.9% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 458,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,183,000 after purchasing an additional 435,722 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.