Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $133.68 and last traded at $132.86, with a volume of 2122562 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $133.21.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on CAH. Bank of America upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Cardinal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI upgraded Cardinal Health from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Argus set a $148.00 target price on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.36.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $127.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.66.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.19. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 59.57% and a net margin of 0.59%. Analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.5056 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Cardinal Health’s payout ratio is currently 37.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Cardinal Health Company Profile

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.