The most recent trading session ended with Cardinal Health (CAH) standing at $110.33, reflecting a -0.17% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.93% for the day. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.41%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.53%.

The the stock of prescription drug distributor has fallen by 1.95% in the past month, leading the Medical sector's loss of 3.08% and undershooting the S&P 500's gain of 2.17%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Cardinal Health in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings on November 1, 2024. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $1.64, showcasing a 5.2% downward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $51.26 billion, down 6.4% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $7.61 per share and revenue of $215.84 billion, which would represent changes of +1.06% and -4.91%, respectively, from the prior 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 a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. 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, 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, there's been a 0.02% fall in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. As of now, Cardinal Health holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at its valuation, Cardinal Health is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 14.52. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 18.4.

Meanwhile, CAH's PEG ratio is currently 1.51. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Medical - Dental Supplies industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.97.

The Medical - Dental Supplies industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 190, which puts it in the bottom 25% of all 250+ industries.

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 follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.

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