Leerink Partnrs Forecasts Cardinal Health Q2 Earnings

Key Points

• Investment analysts at Leerink Partners have increased their Q2 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimate for Cardinal Health to $2.24, up from a previous estimate of $2.22.
• Cardinal Health's stock has received multiple positive ratings from analysts, with 12 analysts rating it as a Buy and a consensus price target of $166.00.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5107 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.3%, to be paid on October 15th.

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Leerink Partnrs upped their Q2 2026 EPS estimates for shares of Cardinal Health in a note issued to investors on Monday, October 6th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now expects that the company will post earnings of $2.24 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $2.22. The consensus estimate for Cardinal Health's current full-year earnings is $7.95 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Cardinal Health's FY2026 earnings at $9.47 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $10.71 EPS, FY2028 earnings at $12.06 EPS and FY2029 earnings at $13.51 EPS.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $60.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.91 billion. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 74.45% and a net margin of 0.70%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. Cardinal Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.300-9.500 EPS.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $197.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $170.00 price target (up from $157.00) on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Argus set a $189.00 price objective on Cardinal Health in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $166.00.

Cardinal Health Stock Up 0.5%

CAH opened at $155.25 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $152.05 and a 200-day moving average of $150.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.07, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.71. Cardinal Health has a 12-month low of $106.98 and a 12-month high of $168.44.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Cardinal Health by 75.0% in the 2nd quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 175 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Cardinal Health in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Cardinal Health by 55.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 200 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Cardinal Health by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 214 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in Cardinal Health in the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jason M. Hollar sold 35,901 shares of Cardinal Health stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.04, for a total value of $5,386,586.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 200,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,008,000. The trade was a 15.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ola M. Snow sold 28,151 shares of Cardinal Health stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.94, for a total transaction of $4,192,809.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,431 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,298,293.14. The trade was a 64.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 271,676 shares of company stock worth $40,489,525 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.5107 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. Cardinal Health's payout ratio is presently 31.63%.

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.

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