Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $390.55.

A number of research firms have commented on ELV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $394.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Elevance Health from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays cut their price target on Elevance Health from $404.00 to $393.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $332.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Thursday, January 29th.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of Elevance Health stock traded up $0.23 on Thursday, hitting $340.83. 78,659 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,682,328. Elevance Health has a 1 year low of $273.71 and a 1 year high of $458.75. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $352.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $329.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.74 billion, a PE ratio of 13.57, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.50.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.23. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 15.59% and a net margin of 2.84%.The company had revenue of $49.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.84 earnings per share. Elevance Health’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Elevance Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 25.500- EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Elevance Health will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $6.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.71. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Elevance Health by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,998,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,431,322,000 after purchasing an additional 141,747 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,621,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,139,473,000 after acquiring an additional 303,099 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 24.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 5,825,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,265,773,000 after acquiring an additional 1,152,440 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in Elevance Health by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 4,576,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,478,857,000 after acquiring an additional 901,626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in Elevance Health by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,022,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,410,219,000 after acquiring an additional 24,271 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Elevance Health

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.