Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Short Interest Update

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,430,000 shares, an increase of 8.2% from the May 31st total of 6,870,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,960,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days. Approximately 3.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Cardinal Health Trading Down 0.9 %

CAH stock traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $95.70. 1,121,277 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,205,511. Cardinal Health has a 12-month low of $85.11 and a 12-month high of $116.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $99.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.61.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $54.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.05 billion. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 54.74% and a net margin of 0.25%. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cardinal Health will post 7.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cardinal Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be given a $0.5056 dividend. This is a positive change from Cardinal Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CAH. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Cardinal Health from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Cardinal Health from $134.00 to $128.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Cardinal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Cardinal Health from $96.00 to $94.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Argus cut their price objective on Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $844,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Cardinal Health by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC boosted its position in Cardinal Health by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 16,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Edmonds Duncan Registered Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Cardinal Health by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Edmonds Duncan Registered Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its position in Cardinal Health by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

About Cardinal Health

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.