Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $397.8889.

Several research firms recently issued reports on ELV. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Elevance Health from $330.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays reduced their price target on Elevance Health from $395.00 to $385.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Leerink Partners restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $310.00 price target (down from $510.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ELV opened at $342.45 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Elevance Health has a 12 month low of $273.71 and a 12 month high of $458.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $327.09 and a 200-day moving average of $352.85. The company has a market capitalization of $76.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.59.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.03 by $1.00. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 2.84%.The company had revenue of $50.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $8.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Elevance Health will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is 27.96%.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In other news, Director Susan D. Devore purchased 1,200 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $312.15 per share, for a total transaction of $374,580.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,093,149.30. This trade represents a 52.13% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Elevance Health by 3.9% in the second quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 21,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,251,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in Elevance Health by 11.3% in the second quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 8,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,125,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in Elevance Health by 4.6% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 22,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,764,000 after purchasing an additional 982 shares in the last quarter. Asio Capital LLC raised its stake in Elevance Health by 7.1% in the second quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 15,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,979,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Elevance Health by 88.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,588 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Company Profile

Elevance Health, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a health benefits company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Health Benefits, CarelonRx, Carelon Services, and Corporate & Other. It offers a variety of health plans and services to program members; health products; an array of fee-based administrative managed care services; and specialty and other insurance products and services, such as stop loss, dental, vision, life, disability, and supplemental health insurance benefits.