Zacks Research Forecasts Lower Earnings for Elevance Health

Key Points

• Zacks Research has lowered Elevance Health's Q4 2025 earnings per share estimate from $4.47 to $4.32, while the current full-year earnings consensus is $33.96 per share.
• The company reported Q2 earnings of $8.84 per share, missing the consensus estimate of $9.30, but saw a revenue increase of 14.3% year-over-year to $49.42 billion.
• Multiple analysts have adjusted their target prices for Elevance Health, with JPMorgan lowering it from $472.00 to $384.00 while UBS maintains a "buy" rating with a target price of $484.00.

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) - Research analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q4 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Elevance Health in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research analyst K. Dey now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $4.32 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $4.47. The consensus estimate for Elevance Health's current full-year earnings is $33.96 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Elevance Health's Q1 2026 earnings at $12.21 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $5.32 EPS and Q1 2027 earnings at $13.18 EPS.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $8.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.30 by ($0.46). The firm had revenue of $49.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.26 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $10.12 earnings per share.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Elevance Health from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Elevance Health from $428.00 to $316.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Barclays cut their price objective on Elevance Health from $434.00 to $358.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Elevance Health from $492.00 to $297.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $418.19.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of Elevance Health stock traded up $5.78 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $291.76. 1,405,262 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,909,440. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $358.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $392.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.60. Elevance Health has a one year low of $274.40 and a one year high of $567.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. Elevance Health's payout ratio is presently 29.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gail Boudreaux purchased 8,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $286.94 per share, for a total transaction of $2,438,990.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 151,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,333,678.80. This represents a 5.96% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Elevance Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ELV. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Elevance Health during the 4th quarter valued at $1,135,014,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Elevance Health by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,355,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,344,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,893,947 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Elevance Health in the 1st quarter valued at $789,943,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Elevance Health by 81,726.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,474,514 shares of the company's stock valued at $641,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,472,712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in Elevance Health by 6,817.8% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 908,795 shares of the company's stock valued at $335,254,000 after acquiring an additional 895,658 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company's stock.

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.