Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning.

ELV has been the subject of several other reports. Raymond James set a $485.00 price target on Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Elevance Health from $585.00 to $478.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $643.00 to $551.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $585.00 to $505.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Argus reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $405.40 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Elevance Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $517.03.

Elevance Health Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ELV opened at $402.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $93.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.71, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.83. Elevance Health has a 12-month low of $362.21 and a 12-month high of $567.26. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $386.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $456.00. 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 (NYSE:ELV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Elevance Health will post 34.07 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Elevance Health in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Elevance Health in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Elevance Health by 57.8% during the third 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. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Elevance Health Company Profile

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.