Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $246.9286.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CAH shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Leerink Partners restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $275.00 price objective on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Monday, March 9th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $249.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $251.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 7th.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

Cardinal Health stock opened at $223.76 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.85. Cardinal Health has a 1-year low of $137.75 and a 1-year high of $233.60. The stock has a market cap of $52.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.52.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.79 by $0.38. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.62% and a negative return on equity of 92.61%. The business had revenue of $60.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.35 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Cardinal Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.700-10.80 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Cardinal Health will post 10.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be issued a $0.5158 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Cardinal Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,090,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 328.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 645,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,741,000 after buying an additional 494,731 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 196,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,790,000 after buying an additional 19,155 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 44.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,284,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,165,000 after buying an additional 707,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 78.7% during the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 17,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,499,000 after buying an additional 7,499 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Cardinal Health

Cardinal Health is a multinational healthcare services and products company headquartered in Dublin, Ohio. Tracing its roots to the early 1970s, the company has grown into a major provider of supply chain and distribution services for the healthcare sector. Cardinal Health operates across a range of service lines that support hospitals, health systems, pharmacies, physician offices and clinical laboratories.

The company’s core activities include the wholesale distribution of branded and generic pharmaceuticals, the supply and distribution of medical-surgical products, and the provision of logistics and inventory management solutions.