Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Upgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold” Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Elevance Health’s Q1 2026 earnings at $11.38 EPS.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $384.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Bank of America increased their price target on Elevance Health from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Elevance Health from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 5th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Elevance Health from $492.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.33.

Elevance Health Price Performance

NYSE ELV traded up $3.07 during trading on Thursday, hitting $317.51. 1,151,441 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,950,748. The company has a market capitalization of $70.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.60. Elevance Health has a 12-month low of $273.71 and a 12-month high of $458.75. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $329.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $345.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is currently 27.96%.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In other Elevance Health news, Director Susan D. Devore acquired 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $312.15 per share, with a total value of $374,580.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELV. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Elevance Health by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,998,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,431,322,000 after purchasing an additional 141,747 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC increased its stake in Elevance Health by 24.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 5,825,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,265,773,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152,440 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 9.7% in the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,675,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,429,498,000 after buying an additional 324,399 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the second quarter worth $1,148,379,000. Finally, Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 31.4% during the first quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,849,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,239,276,000 after buying an additional 680,228 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.