Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Short Interest Up 23.6% in December

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 6,061,976 shares, a growth of 23.6% from the December 15th total of 4,904,967 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,739,392 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days. Approximately 2.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Approximately 2.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,739,392 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Cardinal Health by 153.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,804,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $911,010,000 after purchasing an additional 3,511,579 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health in the second quarter valued at approximately $584,420,000. Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 141.4% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,926,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,332,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128,358 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 109.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,584,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,658,000 after purchasing an additional 827,446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 92.5% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,679,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $282,063,000 after purchasing an additional 807,063 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on CAH shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $185.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $220.00 price target on Cardinal Health and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup upgraded Cardinal Health from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $244.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Leerink Partners set a $240.00 price target on Cardinal Health in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on Cardinal Health from $189.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.33.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAH opened at $210.31 on Wednesday. Cardinal Health has a 1-year low of $120.72 and a 1-year high of $215.48. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $205.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.97 billion, a PE ratio of 31.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.65.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.33. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 84.37% and a net margin of 0.68%.The company had revenue of $64.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Cardinal Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.650-9.850 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Cardinal Health will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.5107 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.77%.

Cardinal Health Company Profile

Cardinal Health is a multinational healthcare services and products company headquartered in Dublin, Ohio. Tracing its roots to the early 1970s, the company has grown into a major provider of supply chain and distribution services for the healthcare sector. Cardinal Health operates across a range of service lines that support hospitals, health systems, pharmacies, physician offices and clinical laboratories.

The company’s core activities include the wholesale distribution of branded and generic pharmaceuticals, the supply and distribution of medical-surgical products, and the provision of logistics and inventory management solutions.