Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $1.84 EPS

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $12.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.74 by $1.84, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $49.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.21 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 15.59% and a net margin of 2.84%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $11.97 earnings per share. Elevance Health updated its FY 2026 guidance to 19.850- EPS.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of Elevance Health stock opened at $333.50 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $308.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $331.60. Elevance Health has a twelve month low of $273.71 and a twelve month high of $432.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.49.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were issued a $1.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 2.1%. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC increased its position in shares of Elevance Health by 85.7% in the fourth quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 156 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Leerink Partners lifted their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group set a $400.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Elevance Health from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $413.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $390.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Elevance Health has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.38.

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.