Cardinal Health Q3 EPS Forecast Raised by Zacks Research

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q3 2026 earnings per share estimates for Cardinal Health in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, December 5th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the company will earn $2.40 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $2.35. The consensus estimate for Cardinal Health’s current full-year earnings is $7.82 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Cardinal Health’s FY2026 earnings at $8.65 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $9.20 EPS.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.26. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 56.56% and a net margin of 0.56%. The firm had revenue of $52.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.73 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on CAH. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $139.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Cardinal Health from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Argus boosted their target price on Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Cardinal Health from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Cardinal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, November 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cardinal Health presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.58.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

CAH stock opened at $120.41 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $108.07. Cardinal Health has a 52 week low of $93.17 and a 52 week high of $126.23. The stock has a market cap of $29.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.61.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CAH. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 33,388 shares during the period. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC bought a new position in Cardinal Health in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $371,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the third quarter worth approximately $1,691,000. National Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the third quarter valued at approximately $903,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 35.9% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 32,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,643,000 after acquiring an additional 8,707 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Cardinal Health Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.5056 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.30%.

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.