Elevance Health (ELV) Competitors

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) and Centene (NYSE:CNC) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Does the media prefer ELV or CNC?

In the previous week, Centene had 41 more articles in the media than Elevance Health. MarketBeat recorded 67 mentions for Centene and 26 mentions for Elevance Health. Elevance Health's average media sentiment score of 1.40 beat Centene's score of 0.39 indicating that Elevance Health is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Elevance Health	22 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Centene	19 Very Positive mention(s)	8 Positive mention(s)	35 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, ELV or CNC?

Elevance Health has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Centene. Centene is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Elevance Health, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Elevance Health	$177.01B	0.37	$5.98B	$23.50	12.34
Centene	$178.19B	0.07	$3.31B	$4.04	6.33

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in ELV or CNC?

89.2% of Elevance Health shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.6% of Centene shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Elevance Health shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Centene shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts prefer ELV or CNC?

Elevance Health presently has a consensus target price of $418.19, suggesting a potential upside of 44.21%. Centene has a consensus target price of $42.20, suggesting a potential upside of 65.12%. Given Centene's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Centene is more favorable than Elevance Health.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Elevance Health	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Centene	1 Sell rating(s)	13 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.12

Is ELV or CNC more profitable?

Elevance Health has a net margin of 2.83% compared to Centene's net margin of 1.15%. Elevance Health's return on equity of 17.59% beat Centene's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Elevance Health	2.83%	17.59%	6.36%
Centene	1.15%	9.57%	3.10%

Which has more risk & volatility, ELV or CNC?

Elevance Health has a beta of 0.58, indicating that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Centene has a beta of 0.4, indicating that its share price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Elevance Health beats Centene on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.