Short Interest in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Grows By 5.2%

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,630,000 shares, a growth of 5.2% from the December 31st total of 3,450,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,940,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on ELV. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $589.00 to $484.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Argus restated a “hold” rating and set a $405.40 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Elevance Health from $605.00 to $555.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Elevance Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $517.03.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ELV. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its position in Elevance Health by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $833,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 50,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,551,000 after buying an additional 3,049 shares in the last quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT raised its position in Elevance Health by 10.7% during the third quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT now owns 39,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,360,000 after buying an additional 3,786 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Elevance Health by 85,533.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 532,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,972,000 after buying an additional 532,016 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in Elevance Health by 1,711.9% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 53,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,858,000 after acquiring an additional 50,603 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Stock Down 0.7 %

ELV stock opened at $402.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $93.30 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.83. Elevance Health has a 12 month low of $362.21 and a 12 month high of $567.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $386.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $456.00.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 3.38%. Equities research analysts forecast that Elevance Health will post 34.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. This is a boost from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.46%.

About Elevance Health

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.