Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $390.73, but opened at $404.72. Elevance Health shares last traded at $394.93, with a volume of 539,696 shares.

The company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 3.68%.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.71 per share. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is 23.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $605.00 to $555.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $593.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Raymond James set a $485.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Argus downgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $524.87.

Institutional Trading of Elevance Health

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ELV. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Elevance Health Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $386.32 and a 200-day moving average of $463.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.84.

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.