Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Short Interest Update

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,420,000 shares, a decrease of 6.8% from the January 15th total of 4,740,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,300,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Cardinal Health Trading Down 0.3 %

CAH stock traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $126.96. The company had a trading volume of 2,192,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,338,200. Cardinal Health has a 52 week low of $93.17 and a 52 week high of $132.84. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $123.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $116.88. The stock has a market cap of $30.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.69, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.63.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts predict that Cardinal Health will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.5056 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. Cardinal Health's payout ratio is 37.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on CAH. Bank of America raised shares of Cardinal Health from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $136.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cardinal Health from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, November 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $136.87.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cardinal Health

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CAH. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter worth $246,748,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 154.6% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,151,736 shares of the company's stock worth $372,756,000 after acquiring an additional 1,913,892 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter worth $141,963,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter worth $92,811,000. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the fourth quarter valued at $87,144,000. 87.17% of the stock is 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.