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

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,430,000 shares, a growth of 8.2% from the May 31st total of 6,870,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,960,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days. Approximately 3.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

Cardinal Health stock traded down $0.84 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $95.70. The company had a trading volume of 1,121,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,205,511. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.42. Cardinal Health has a 1-year low of $85.11 and a 1-year high of $116.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.31 billion, a PE ratio of 42.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.61.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last announced its earnings results 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. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.25% and a negative return on equity of 54.74%. The company had revenue of $54.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health will post 7.35 EPS for the current year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.5056 per share. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 1st. This is a boost from Cardinal Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Cardinal Health’s payout ratio is 88.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAH. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 4,466.7% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on CAH. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cardinal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $134.00 to $128.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Argus cut their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $96.00 to $94.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.67.

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.