Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Short Interest Update

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,420,000 shares, a drop of 6.8% from the January 15th total of 4,740,000 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,300,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAH traded up $0.14 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $126.35. 1,973,353 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,353,499. The company has a market cap of $30.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.57, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.63. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $123.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.74. Cardinal Health has a 52-week low of $93.17 and a 52-week high of $132.84.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.19. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 59.57% and a net margin of 0.59%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.5056 per share. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 69.8% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho assumed coverage on Cardinal Health in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $139.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen raised Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $144.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on Cardinal Health from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Cardinal Health from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Cardinal Health from $136.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.87.

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.