Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Strong-Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on CAH. UBS Group raised their target price on Cardinal Health from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. SVB Leerink began coverage on Cardinal Health in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set an outperform rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays began coverage on Cardinal Health in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an overweight rating and a $117.00 price target for the company. Finally, Argus raised Cardinal Health from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $102.93.

Cardinal Health Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:CAH traded up $0.81 on Thursday, hitting $102.98. The stock had a trading volume of 3,700,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,275,163. The business's fifty day moving average is $109.37 and its 200 day moving average is $104.98. The company has a market cap of $25.05 billion, a PE ratio of 40.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.71. Cardinal Health has a 52 week low of $77.56 and a 52 week high of $116.04.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.26. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 0.30%. The company had revenue of $57.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Cardinal Health will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st were given a $0.5006 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. Cardinal Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter valued at $209,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Cardinal Health by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,678 shares of the company's stock valued at $673,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Cardinal Health by 50.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 184,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,649,000 after buying an additional 61,933 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in Cardinal Health by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 282,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,470,000 after buying an additional 38,769 shares during the period. Finally, Certuity LLC bought a new stake in Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter valued at $228,000. 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.