Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $136.87.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CAH shares. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $144.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Cardinal Health from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upgraded Cardinal Health from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on Cardinal Health from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Cardinal Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

Cardinal Health stock traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $126.63. 1,337,055 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,313,015. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $123.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.63. Cardinal Health has a 1 year low of $93.17 and a 1 year high of $132.84.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.19. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 59.57% and a net margin of 0.59%. Research analysts forecast that Cardinal Health will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.5056 dividend. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Cardinal Health's payout ratio is 37.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cardinal Health

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAH. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Cardinal Health by 69.8% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cardinal Health during the third quarter worth about $31,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently 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.