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

Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three research 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 price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $517.03.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ELV shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Elevance Health from $643.00 to $551.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho dropped their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating and set a $405.40 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Stephens lowered shares of 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, January 22nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new stake in Elevance Health during the third quarter valued at $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Elevance Health Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of Elevance Health stock opened at $391.86 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Elevance Health has a 12-month low of $362.21 and a 12-month high of $567.26. The company has a market cap of $90.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.30, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $384.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $445.67.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 18.28%. Research analysts anticipate that Elevance Health will post 34 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.71 per share. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is 25.46%.

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.