Cardinal Health (CAH) Stock Drops Despite Market Gains: Important Facts to Note

Cardinal Health (CAH) closed at $132.75 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.35% move from the prior day. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.16% for the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.01%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.46%.Coming into today, shares of the prescription drug distributor had gained 4.44% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector lost 1.17%, while the S&P 500 lost 3.59%.The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Cardinal Health in its upcoming release. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $2.15, reflecting a 3.37% increase from the same quarter last year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $55.03 billion, showing a 0.21% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.CAH's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $7.94 per share and revenue of $222.62 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +5.44% and -1.92%, respectively.Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections for Cardinal Health. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. Cardinal Health is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Cardinal Health has a Forward P/E ratio of 16.77 right now. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 16.91.We can also see that CAH currently has a PEG ratio of 1.76. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Medical - Dental Supplies industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.81.The Medical - Dental Supplies industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 78, which puts it in the top 32% 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.Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks