Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,770,000 shares, an increase of 20.7% from the November 30th total of 4,780,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,170,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 2.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAH traded up $0.35 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $118.27. The company had a trading volume of 1,199,864 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,106,356. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $118.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.00. Cardinal Health has a fifty-two week low of $93.17 and a fifty-two week high of $126.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Cardinal Health Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a $0.5056 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on CAH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Cardinal Health from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Cardinal Health from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $101.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cardinal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Paragon Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Cardinal Health by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,451,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Midland Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 4.2% during the second quarter. Midland Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cardinal Health by 5.1% in the second quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in Cardinal Health by 0.5% in the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 20,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,054,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Cardinal Health by 0.9% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 10,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,193,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.