Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Analysts

Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $441.48.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $457.00 to $469.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $364.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $331.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th.

Institutional Trading of Elevance Health

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Castleview Partners LLC raised its stake in Elevance Health by 5.7% during the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 4,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Bullock Wealth Management Group boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 43.6% in the third quarter. Bullock Wealth Management Group now owns 158 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the third quarter worth $438,000. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 10.1% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,367,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intelligence Driven Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 7.6% in the third quarter. Intelligence Driven Advisers LLC now owns 665 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Elevance Health Trading Up 2.9%

ELV opened at $412.51 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Elevance Health has a 52 week low of $274.84 and a 52 week high of $436.24. The stock has a market cap of $89.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.33, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50 day moving average of $400.27 and a 200-day moving average of $381.17.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $7.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.21 by $1.24. The company had revenue of $49.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.88 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 14.64% and a net margin of 2.47%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Elevance Health will post 27.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $1.72 per share. This represents a $6.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.58%.

Elevance Health Company Profile

Elevance Health, Inc (NYSE: ELV) is a health benefits and services company that provides health insurance, managed care and related healthcare solutions in the United States. Its offerings serve individuals, employers, government-sponsored programs and other organizations across commercial, Medicare and Medicaid markets.

The company operates a portfolio of health plans, including Blue Cross Blue Shield-affiliated plans in several states, as well as government-focused plans marketed under brands such as Wellpoint.