Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Stock Price

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) had its target price increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $127.00 to $135.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $132.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Cardinal Health from $127.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays upped their price target on Cardinal Health from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $139.00 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cardinal Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.21.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

NYSE CAH opened at $127.53 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.75. Cardinal Health has a one year low of $93.17 and a one year high of $131.29. The firm has a market cap of $30.86 billion, a PE ratio of 24.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.63.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $52.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $50.90 billion. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 56.56% and a net margin of 0.56%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.73 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cardinal Health will post 7.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $0.5056 dividend. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,177,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,566,913,000 after buying an additional 627,253 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Cardinal Health by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,749,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,298,000 after acquiring an additional 42,082 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,290,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $474,203,000 after acquiring an additional 191,568 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,474,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,976,000 after purchasing an additional 33,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 47.9% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,069,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,197,000 after purchasing an additional 346,362 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.