Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Now Covered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV – Get Rating) in a report published on Thursday morning. The firm issued a strong-buy rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on ELV. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Elevance Health from $550.00 to $565.00 in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $505.00 to $523.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $581.00 to $571.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 8th. SVB Leerink restated an outperform rating and set a $580.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Thursday, January 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $557.00 to $609.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $583.89.

Elevance Health Price Performance

NYSE ELV opened at $463.17 on Thursday. Elevance Health has a 1 year low of $440.02 and a 1 year high of $549.52. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $478.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $491.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $109.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.85.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The company reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $39.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.62 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.85% and a return on equity of 19.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.14 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Elevance Health will post 32.72 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 9th. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. This is a boost from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.28. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.88%.

Institutional Trading of Elevance Health

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ELV. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the 4th quarter valued at $6,527,828,000. Geode Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth about $2,160,082,000. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new stake in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth about $1,991,235,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. purchased a new position in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,936,996,000. Finally, Edmp Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,580,000. 87.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Elevance Health Company Profile

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Elevance Health, Inc operates as a health company, which engages in improving lives and communities, and making healthcare simpler. It operates through the following segments: Commercial and Specialty Business, Government Business, CarelonRx, and Other. The Commercial and Specialty Business segment provides insurance products and services such as stop loss, dental, vision, life, disability and supplemental health insurance.