Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Upgraded at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $145.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $132.00.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. 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. UBS Group increased their target price on Cardinal Health from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Cardinal Health in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $139.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Cardinal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 3rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cardinal Health has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.71.

Cardinal Health Trading Up 1.0 %

CAH opened at $122.56 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.76. The stock has a market cap of $29.66 billion, a PE ratio of 23.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.63. Cardinal Health has a 1 year low of $93.17 and a 1 year high of $126.23.

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

Cardinal Health Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.5056 per share. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is 39.30%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAH. Paragon Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,451,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in Cardinal Health by 0.9% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 10,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 0.9% during the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 11,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,125,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 69.8% during 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 period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by 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.