Zacks Research Upgrades Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) to “Strong-Buy”

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on CAH. UBS Group set a $260.00 price target on Cardinal Health and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Cardinal Health from $222.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $250.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Monday, December 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $243.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.19.

Cardinal Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAH opened at $220.72 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $208.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.20. Cardinal Health has a one year low of $120.72 and a one year high of $230.81. The firm has a market cap of $51.94 billion, a PE ratio of 31.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.64.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $65.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.88 billion. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 92.50% and a net margin of 0.68%.Cardinal Health’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.93 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Cardinal Health will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cardinal Health

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Cardinal Health by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 9,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,968,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Cardinal Health by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,159,000 after purchasing an additional 2,458 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 90.6% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Cardinal Health by 1,328.1% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 951,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,484,000 after buying an additional 884,648 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Cardinal Health by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $440,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cardinal Health News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Cardinal Health this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results and underlying strength — Cardinal reported a Q4 EPS beat and revenue above expectations, with revenue up ~19% year-over-year, which analysts cite as supporting the stock’s upside. Cardinal Health’s (NYSE:CAH) Solid Earnings Are Supported By Other Strong Factors
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend confirmed — the Board approved a quarterly dividend of $0.5107 per share (payable Apr 15; record Apr 1). The cash return reinforces income appeal and signals confidence in cash flow. Cardinal Health Board of Directors Approves Quarterly Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst lift — JPMorgan raised its price target to $243, providing a tangible upside anchor for investors and helping sentiment. JPMorgan Chase Increases Cardinal Health Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks momentum & valuation coverage — CAH was added to Zacks’ Rank #1 momentum list and several Zacks pieces highlight undervaluation and a favorable long-term value case, which can attract momentum and value investors. Best Momentum Stock to Buy for February 13th Are Investors Undervaluing Cardinal Health?
• Neutral Sentiment: Kalkine notes logistics/reliability improvements on the NYSE composite — operational reliability updates are constructive but are incremental near-term drivers. Cardinal Health Boosts Logistics Reliability
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst Q&A from the earnings call — the transcript highlights management’s priorities and risk items; useful for longer-term fundamental assessment but not an immediate catalyst. The 5 Most Interesting Analyst Questions From Cardinal Health’s Q4 Earnings Call

About Cardinal Health

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.