Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) shares hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $154.32 and last traded at $154.23, with a volume of 2785568 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $151.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Cardinal Health from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $142.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.43.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $36.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.77, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $137.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.79.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.20. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.59% and a negative return on equity of 59.57%. The business had revenue of $54.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.33 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a $0.5107 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This is a boost from Cardinal Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.83%.

Institutional Trading of Cardinal Health

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in Cardinal Health by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 767 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in Cardinal Health by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 858 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Cardinal Health by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 6,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $833,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. CSS LLC IL boosted its stake in Cardinal Health by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. CSS LLC IL now owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,323,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Cardinal Health by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cardinal Health Company Profile

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.