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Cardinal Health (CAH) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: Here's Why

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Cardinal Health (CAH - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $110.87, moving -0.02% from the previous trading session. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.27%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.65%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.26%.

The prescription drug distributor's stock has climbed by 1% in the past month, exceeding the Medical sector's loss of 4.14% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 2%.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Cardinal Health in its upcoming release. The company plans to announce its earnings on November 1, 2024. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.64, down 5.2% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $51.26 billion, down 6.4% from the prior-year quarter.

Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $7.61 per share and revenue of $215.84 billion, indicating changes of +1.06% and -4.91%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Cardinal Health. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been no change in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. As of now, Cardinal Health holds a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Digging into valuation, Cardinal Health currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 14.57. This signifies a discount in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 16.65 for its industry.

We can also see that CAH currently has a PEG ratio of 1.52. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Medical - Dental Supplies was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.78 at yesterday's closing price.

The Medical - Dental Supplies industry is part of the Medical sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 100, this industry ranks in the top 40% of all industries, numbering over 250.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.


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