Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

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

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Cardinal Health from $96.00 to $94.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Leerink Partnrs restated an outperform rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Cardinal Health from $134.00 to $128.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cardinal Health has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $107.00.

Cardinal Health Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:CAH opened at $99.53 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $107.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.38. The company has a market cap of $24.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.24, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.71. Cardinal Health has a twelve month low of $80.90 and a twelve month high of $116.04.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.13. The business 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.74 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health will post 7.35 EPS for the current year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 1st will be given a $0.5056 dividend. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 1st. This is a positive change from Cardinal Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 82.2% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,128,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,862,291 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,723,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,585,000 after acquiring an additional 598,002 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,340,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,026,000 after acquiring an additional 28,412 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,619,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,052,000 after acquiring an additional 389,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $258,499,000. 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.