Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on CAH. Leerink Partnrs reiterated an outperform rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on Cardinal Health in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued an outperform rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Argus raised shares of Cardinal Health from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. TheStreet lowered shares of Cardinal Health from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 27th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an overweight rating and a $117.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cardinal Health presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $103.07.

Cardinal Health Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:CAH opened at $103.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $109.51 and a 200 day moving average of $104.67. Cardinal Health has a 52 week low of $77.56 and a 52 week high of $116.04.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $57.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.02 billion. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.30% and a negative return on equity of 57.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a $0.5006 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. Cardinal Health’s payout ratio is 78.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 4,466.7% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Cardinal Health during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently 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.