Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Upgraded to "Buy" at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $145.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $132.00.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on CAH. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $139.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised Cardinal Health from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $101.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Cardinal Health from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, November 3rd. Finally, Argus raised their target price on Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $128.85.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAH traded up $0.18 on Monday, hitting $119.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,777,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,991,158. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $118.98 and a 200-day moving average of $110.56. The company has a market capitalization of $28.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.63. Cardinal Health has a 12-month low of $93.17 and a 12-month high of $126.23.

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

Cardinal Health Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.5056 dividend. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is 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 company. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Cardinal Health during the third quarter worth $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 69.8% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Cardinal Health during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

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.