Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Stock Now Rated "Moderate Buy" by Sell-Side Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts rate Elevance Health a “Moderate Buy.” Of 23 analysts, 15 recommend buying and eight recommend holding, with an average 12-month price target of $440.90.
• Recent research firms issued mixed but generally positive updates, with price targets ranging from $393 to $488; Elevance shares opened at $395.16 and have traded between $274.84 and $436.24 over the past year.
• Quarterly earnings beat expectations: Elevance reported $7.45 in adjusted earnings per share versus the $6.21 consensus estimate and $49.83 billion in revenue. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.72 per share, representing a 1.7% yield.

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-three analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $440.90.

A number of research firms have recently commented on ELV. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $480.00 to $457.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $488.00 target price on Elevance Health in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Elevance Health from $331.00 to $393.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Leerink Partners raised their price target on Elevance Health from $364.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Elevance Health from $400.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Elevance Health stock opened at $395.16 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.56, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50-day moving average of $398.18 and a 200-day moving average of $378.65. Elevance Health has a 1 year low of $274.84 and a 1 year high of $436.24.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $7.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.21 by $1.24. Elevance Health had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 14.64%. The business had revenue of $49.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.88 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.84 EPS. Elevance Health's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Elevance Health will post 27.21 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Field & Main Bank grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 1,883 shares of the company's stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 1.3% during the second quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC now owns 2,081 shares of the company's stock valued at $805,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. WealthCollab LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 42.2% during the first quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 91 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 837 shares of the company's stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC now owns 270 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Elevance Health

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.

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