Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $524.87.

Several analysts have weighed in on ELV shares. Stephens lowered Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $520.00 to $440.00 in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $643.00 to $551.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $585.00 to $505.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $600.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Elevance Health during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Elevance Health by 57.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 71 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

NYSE:ELV opened at $401.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Elevance Health has a fifty-two week low of $362.21 and a fifty-two week high of $567.26. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $386.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $463.64. The stock has a market cap of $93.05 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.84.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.68% and a return on equity of 19.56%. Analysts expect that Elevance Health will post 32.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.71 dividend. This is a boost from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.77%.

About Elevance Health

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.