Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Sell-Side Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is positive: Cardinal Health has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from 19 analysts, including 16 buys and three holds. The average 12-month price target is $270.69, with recent targets reaching as high as $295.
• Shares are trading near their 12-month high: Cardinal Health opened at $254.69, compared with a 12-month range of $180.45 to $259.84. The company’s latest quarterly earnings of $2.91 per share exceeded estimates of $2.42, while revenue rose 5.8% year over year.
• Cardinal Health maintains shareholder returns: The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.5158, equivalent to an annualized $2.06 and a 0.8% yield. However, insiders sold more than $49.6 million of stock over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 87.17% of shares.

Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and sixteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $270.69.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CAH. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Cardinal Health from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Cardinal Health in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $276.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on Cardinal Health from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, October 25th.

Cardinal Health Trading Up 1.7%

Cardinal Health stock opened at $254.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $238.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $222.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.98 billion, a PE ratio of 35.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.50. Cardinal Health has a 12-month low of $180.45 and a 12-month high of $259.84.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.49. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 98.53% and a net margin of 0.67%. The business had revenue of $63.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.08 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Cardinal Health has set its FY 2027 guidance at 12.400-12.600 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cardinal Health will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st were paid a $0.5158 dividend. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 1st. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.49%.

Insider Transactions at Cardinal Health

In related news, insider Jessica Mayer sold 29,436 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.19, for a total value of $6,952,488.84. Following the transaction, the insider owned 33,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,812,220.44. This represents a 47.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason Hollar sold 44,529 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.18, for a total value of $10,516,859.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 190,603 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,016,616.54. This trade represents a 18.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 210,271 shares of company stock valued at $49,626,657 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Cardinal Health

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,108,000. Heritage Family Offices LLP boosted its position in Cardinal Health by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 1,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd increased its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 81.8% during the third quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 1,629 shares of the company's stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 58.2% during the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,470 shares of the company's stock worth $5,667,000 after acquiring an additional 9,369 shares during the period. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 12.1% during the third quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 724 shares of the company's stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cardinal Health Company Profile

Cardinal Health, Inc is a healthcare services and products company that supports the distribution and delivery of pharmaceuticals, medical products and related services. The company serves hospitals, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, physician offices and other healthcare providers.

Its Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions segment distributes branded, generic and specialty pharmaceuticals, as well as consumer health products, to pharmacies and healthcare institutions.

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