Short Interest in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) Expands By 41.9%

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,270,000 shares, an increase of 41.9% from the January 31st total of 4,420,000 shares. Approximately 2.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Cardinal Health Price Performance

Shares of Cardinal Health stock traded up $1.72 on Wednesday, hitting $128.03. 512,762 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,350,216. Cardinal Health has a one year low of $93.17 and a one year high of $132.84. The company has a fifty day moving average of $125.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.51. The company has a market capitalization of $30.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.63.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.19. Cardinal Health had a negative return on equity of 59.57% and a net margin of 0.59%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cardinal Health will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $0.5056 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Cardinal Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cardinal Health

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter worth about $246,748,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 154.6% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,151,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,756,000 after buying an additional 1,913,892 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter worth about $141,963,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter worth about $92,811,000. Finally, Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Cardinal Health in the fourth quarter worth about $87,144,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Cardinal Health from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Cardinal Health from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on Cardinal Health from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America upgraded Cardinal Health from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $132.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on Cardinal Health in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $139.00 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $139.36.

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.