In the latest close session, Cardinal Health (CAH) was up +1.93% at $202.95. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.88%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.38%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 1.31%.
The stock of prescription drug distributor has fallen by 4.23% in the past month, lagging the Medical sector's gain of 1.2% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.48%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Cardinal Health in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $2.31, showcasing a 19.69% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $64.07 billion, showing a 15.94% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $9.86 per share and a revenue of $258.58 billion, signifying shifts of +19.66% and +16.18%, respectively, from the last year.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Cardinal Health. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.17% downward. Right now, Cardinal Health possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Cardinal Health currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 20.19. This indicates a premium in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 17.72.
Investors should also note that CAH has a PEG ratio of 1.45 right now. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Medical - Dental Supplies industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.36.
The Medical - Dental Supplies industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 151, which puts it in the bottom 39% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
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Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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