Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.51

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, November 5th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.5056 per share on Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd.

Cardinal Health has raised its dividend by an average of 1.0% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 28 years. Cardinal Health has a payout ratio of 25.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Cardinal Health to earn $8.66 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.02 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 23.3%.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

Cardinal Health stock opened at $117.92 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $28.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.61. Cardinal Health has a 1-year low of $93.17 and a 1-year high of $126.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.88.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.26. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.56% and a negative return on equity of 56.56%. The company had revenue of $52.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $50.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.73 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Cardinal Health will post 7.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho began coverage on Cardinal Health in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $139.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $127.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Cardinal Health from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Argus increased their price objective on Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Cardinal Health from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.50.

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.