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

Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $126.23 and last traded at $125.88, with a volume of 585397 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $123.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAH has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Cardinal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 3rd. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $139.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.58.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $29.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $116.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.39.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $52.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.73 EPS. Cardinal Health’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CAH. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

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.