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

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In the latest market close, Cardinal Health (CAH - Free Report) reached $93.74, with a -0.38% movement compared to the previous day. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.28%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.53%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.4%.

The prescription drug distributor's shares have seen a decrease of 6.09% over the last month, not keeping up with the Medical sector's gain of 0.79% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.78%.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Cardinal Health in its upcoming release. On that day, Cardinal Health is projected to report earnings of $1.72 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 10.97%. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $58.71 billion, reflecting a 9.83% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.

Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections 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 company's business and profitability.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable 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 last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 0.02% increase. At present, Cardinal Health boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In the context of valuation, Cardinal Health is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 12.46. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 17.96.

It's also important to note that CAH currently trades at a PEG ratio of 1.04. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. The Medical - Dental Supplies was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.01 at yesterday's closing price.

The Medical - Dental Supplies industry is part of the Medical sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 77, positioning it in the top 31% 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.

Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.


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