Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $131.00 and last traded at $130.65, with a volume of 2191047 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $128.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $127.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup raised their target price on Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Cardinal Health from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen raised Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $144.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Cardinal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cardinal Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.21.

Cardinal Health Stock Down 0.2 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $121.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.75. The stock has a market cap of $30.86 billion, a PE ratio of 24.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.63.

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

Cardinal Health Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.5056 per share. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.30%.

Institutional Trading of Cardinal Health

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CAH. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Cardinal Health in the third quarter worth $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. 87.17% of the stock is 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.