Investors Purchase High Volume of Cardinal Health Call Options (NYSE:CAH)

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 27,965 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 808% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,081 call options.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

CAH traded down $1.59 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $205.62. 1,063,951 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,395,668. Cardinal Health has a 52 week low of $117.53 and a 52 week high of $214.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $198.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.63.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $64.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.41 billion. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 84.37% and a net margin of 0.68%.The business’s revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. Cardinal Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.650-9.850 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cardinal Health will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.5107 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Cardinal Health from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $220.00 price objective on Cardinal Health and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $232.00 price objective on Cardinal Health in a report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Cardinal Health in a research note on Monday, December 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $243.00 price objective for the company. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cardinal Health has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 0.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,823,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,838,054,000 after purchasing an additional 247,667 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Cardinal Health by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,389,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,069,005,000 after buying an additional 205,539 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Cardinal Health by 153.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,804,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $911,010,000 after acquiring an additional 3,511,579 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Cardinal Health by 3.2% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,592,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $563,922,000 after acquiring an additional 111,582 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 14.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,483,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $546,724,000 after acquiring an additional 445,425 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cardinal Health Company Profile

Cardinal Health is a multinational healthcare services and products company headquartered in Dublin, Ohio. Tracing its roots to the early 1970s, the company has grown into a major provider of supply chain and distribution services for the healthcare sector. Cardinal Health operates across a range of service lines that support hospitals, health systems, pharmacies, physician offices and clinical laboratories.

The company’s core activities include the wholesale distribution of branded and generic pharmaceuticals, the supply and distribution of medical-surgical products, and the provision of logistics and inventory management solutions.