Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Receives $133.29 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $134.64.

CAH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Cardinal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Cardinal Health in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $139.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Cardinal Health from $127.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

Shares of CAH stock opened at $128.89 on Wednesday. Cardinal Health has a 1 year low of $93.17 and a 1 year high of $129.68. The firm has a market cap of $31.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $121.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.92.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $52.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.90 billion. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 56.56% and a net margin of 0.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.73 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Cardinal Health will post 7.82 EPS for the current year.

Cardinal Health Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.5056 per share. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.30%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,749,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,298,000 after purchasing an additional 42,082 shares during the last quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in Cardinal Health by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 240,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,435,000 after buying an additional 3,576 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 2.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,474,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,976,000 after acquiring an additional 33,388 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the third quarter valued at $371,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the third quarter valued at $1,691,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.