Elevance Health Q4 EPS Forecast Lowered by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research cut Elevance's Q4 2026 EPS forecast to $2.95 from $3.43 and trimmed several other near‑ and long‑term estimates (including Q1 2028 to $11.08 and FY2028 to $31.77), signaling some weakening in longer‑range momentum.
• Despite the cuts, Elevance beat Q1 results (reported $12.58 EPS vs. $10.74 consensus) and kept FY2026 guidance at $19.85 EPS; analysts still have a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target near $384.58.

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Zacks Research decreased their Q4 2026 earnings estimates for Elevance Health in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $2.95 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $3.43. The consensus estimate for Elevance Health's current full-year earnings is $26.79 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Elevance Health's Q3 2027 earnings at $6.81 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $11.08 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $31.77 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on ELV. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Elevance Health from $395.00 to $391.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $393.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $317.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Elevance Health from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $384.00 to $424.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $384.58.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ELV opened at $372.94 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $80.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.66. Elevance Health has a twelve month low of $273.71 and a twelve month high of $424.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $312.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $332.13.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $12.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.74 by $1.84. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 15.58% and a net margin of 2.62%.The firm had revenue of $49.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $11.97 earnings per share. Elevance Health's quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Elevance Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.850- EPS.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $1.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $6.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Elevance Health's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.26%.

Institutional Trading of Elevance Health

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ELV. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Elevance Health during the 1st quarter valued at about $101,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 7.5% in the first quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,831 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,635,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 164.7% in the first quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 14,377 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,209,000 after purchasing an additional 8,946 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 8.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,645,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $481,683,000 after buying an additional 128,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 20.7% during the first quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 11,791 shares of the company's stock worth $3,452,000 after buying an additional 2,023 shares during the period. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Elevance Health

Here are the key news stories impacting Elevance Health this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised FY2026 EPS to $26.79 (from $25.53) and nudged FY2027 slightly higher to $28.51 (from $28.40), signaling improved medium‑term earnings expectations. This supports a higher earnings base for valuation.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks materially raised Q3 2027 EPS to $6.81 (from $6.01), a meaningful bump for that quarter which may offset some near-term weakness in other periods.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks also slightly raised Q2 2027 to $7.23 (from $7.20), a marginal upward revision.
• Neutral Sentiment: Yahoo Finance ran two pieces on ELV valuation and whether investors should reassess the name after its recent price surge; these are analysis/opinion pieces rather than fresh fundamental data and help frame investor sentiment. A Look At Elevance Health (ELV) Valuation After Q1 Beat And Raised EPS Guidance Is It Time To Reassess Elevance Health (ELV) After Its Recent Price Surge?
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks cut Q1 2028 EPS to $11.08 from $12.00, a notable downgrade for that quarter that could pressure near‑term expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 2026 was reduced to $2.95 from $3.43 and FY2028 was lowered to $31.77 from $33.47 — across‑the‑board trims in late‑stage estimates that suggest Zacks sees some weakening in longer‑range momentum.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple nearer‑term 2026/2027 quarter estimates were trimmed (Q2 2026 to $6.15 from $6.30; Q3 2026 to $5.10 from $5.41; Q1 2027 to $10.05 from $10.45; Q4 2027 to $4.42 from $4.75), indicating Zacks lowered expectations for several upcoming quarters.

Elevance Health Company Profile

Elevance Health, Inc NYSE: ELV is a large U.S.-based health benefits company that provides a broad range of health insurance products and related services. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the company rebranded from Anthem, Inc to Elevance Health in 2022 while continuing to operate consumer-facing health plans under established state and national brands. Gail Boudreaux serves as chief executive officer and president, leading the company's strategic focus on integrated health care and benefit delivery.

Elevance's core activities include offering medical and specialty health plans for individuals, employers and government programs, including Medicare and Medicaid managed-care products.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.