Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on CAH. Barclays increased their price objective on Cardinal Health from $258.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Cardinal Health from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Cardinal Health from $251.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Leerink Partners set a $292.00 price target on Cardinal Health in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Cardinal Health from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $267.50.

Cardinal Health Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of CAH opened at $253.16 on Friday. Cardinal Health has a fifty-two week low of $155.84 and a fifty-two week high of $258.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $234.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $222.63. The company has a market cap of $58.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.02, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.50.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.49. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 98.53%. The company had revenue of $63.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Cardinal Health has set its FY 2027 guidance at 12.400-12.600 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Cardinal Health will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st were paid a $0.5158 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Cardinal Health’s payout ratio is currently 28.49%.

Insider Activity at Cardinal Health

In other Cardinal Health news, CEO Stephen Mason sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.40, for a total value of $8,274,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 18,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,269,620.40. This represents a 65.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michelle Greene sold 11,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.72, for a total transaction of $2,746,138.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 10,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,434,987.60. This represents a 53.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 210,271 shares of company stock worth $49,626,657 over the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CAH. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its position in Cardinal Health by 1.6% in the third quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 4,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $984,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Clark Financial Services Group Inc. BD lifted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 7.8% in the third quarter. Clark Financial Services Group Inc. BD now owns 4,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,099,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. lifted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 1,562.5% in the third quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 73.0% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 15,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,531,000 after purchasing an additional 6,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC now owns 42,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,453,000 after purchasing an additional 10,528 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

About Cardinal Health

Cardinal Health, Inc is a healthcare services and products company that supports the distribution and delivery of pharmaceuticals, medical products and related services. The company serves hospitals, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, physician offices and other healthcare providers.

Its Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions segment distributes branded, generic and specialty pharmaceuticals, as well as consumer health products, to pharmacies and healthcare institutions.