Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,480,000 shares, a drop of 23.7% from the February 13th total of 3,250,000 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,710,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ELV traded up $5.73 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $436.32. The company had a trading volume of 2,135,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,304,029. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $99.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $397.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $427.09. Elevance Health has a one year low of $362.21 and a one year high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Elevance Health will post 33.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. This is a boost 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 1.57%. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ELV. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Stephens downgraded Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Argus upgraded Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $519.81.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In other news, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total value of $183,902.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,847 shares in the company, valued at $766,745.11. This trade represents a 19.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total value of $1,388,635.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,008,970.80. This represents a 25.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ELV. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the 4th quarter valued at $1,135,014,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Elevance Health by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,355,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,344,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,893,947 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Elevance Health by 47.6% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 3,225,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,189,828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,612 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Elevance Health by 6,817.8% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 908,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $335,254,000 after acquiring an additional 895,658 shares during the period. Finally, D1 Capital Partners L.P. bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the 4th quarter valued at $294,751,000. Institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

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.