Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on ELV. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $297.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Truist Financial set a $400.00 price target on Elevance Health in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on Elevance Health from $414.00 to $396.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Elevance Health from $404.00 to $393.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $396.55.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Elevance Health stock opened at $342.01 on Friday. Elevance Health has a fifty-two week low of $273.71 and a fifty-two week high of $458.75. The company has a market capitalization of $76.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $351.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $49.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.52 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 15.59% and a net margin of 2.84%.The business’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.84 earnings per share. Elevance Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 25.500- EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Elevance Health will post 33.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $1.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.71. This represents a $6.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is 27.23%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ELV. Nilsine Partners LLC increased its position in Elevance Health by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 1,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $620,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in Elevance Health by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC grew its stake in Elevance Health by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC now owns 825 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Elevance Health by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Elevance Health

Elevance Health, Inc (NYSE: ELV) is a large U.S.-based health benefits company that provides a broad range of health insurance products and related services. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the company rebranded from Anthem, Inc to Elevance Health in 2022 while continuing to operate consumer-facing health plans under established state and national brands. Gail Boudreaux serves as chief executive officer and president, leading the company’s strategic focus on integrated health care and benefit delivery.

Elevance’s core activities include offering medical and specialty health plans for individuals, employers and government programs, including Medicare and Medicaid managed-care products.