Bank of America Upgrades Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) to “Buy”

Bank of America upgraded shares of Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. Bank of America currently has $145.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $132.00.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on CAH. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Cardinal Health from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $101.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com cut Cardinal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 3rd. Mizuho started coverage on Cardinal Health in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $139.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Cardinal Health from $127.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.85.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAH opened at $119.48 on Monday. Cardinal Health has a one year low of $93.17 and a one year high of $126.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.25, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $118.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.56.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $52.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $50.90 billion. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 56.56% and a net margin of 0.56%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.73 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cardinal Health will post 7.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.5056 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.30%.

Institutional Trading of Cardinal Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 19,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,341,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 129,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,263,000 after buying an additional 11,847 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 42.0% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 14,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,679,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 22,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,659,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259 shares during the period. Finally, First City Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Cardinal Health during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $209,000. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.