Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $539.20.

A number of research firms have weighed in on ELV. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $589.00 to $484.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com lowered Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Stephens restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Elevance Health from $585.00 to $478.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Elevance Health from $605.00 to $555.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th.

Elevance Health Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Elevance Health stock opened at $372.94 on Wednesday. Elevance Health has a 1-year low of $362.21 and a 1-year high of $567.26. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $406.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $487.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.83.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $8.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.66 by ($1.29). Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.68% and a return on equity of 19.56%. The company had revenue of $44.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.99 earnings per share. Elevance Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Elevance Health will post 32.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is 23.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $432.14, for a total value of $3,205,182.38. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,639,915.22. This trade represents a 46.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Elevance Health

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the third quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in Elevance Health by 57.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 71 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Elevance Health in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. 89.24% of the stock is 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.