Short Interest in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Decreases By 10.7%

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) was the target of a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,090,000 shares, a drop of 10.7% from the March 15th total of 2,340,000 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,020,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Elevance Health Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ELV opened at $507.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $507.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $482.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Elevance Health has a 1 year low of $412.00 and a 1 year high of $521.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.78.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $5.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.60 by $0.02. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 20.47% and a net margin of 3.49%. The firm had revenue of $42.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.23 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Elevance Health will post 37.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is 25.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $580.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Elevance Health from $572.00 to $574.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays assumed coverage on Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $584.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Elevance Health from $561.00 to $557.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $569.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $376,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,554,500. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,201,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 989 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Elevance Health by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised its holdings in Elevance Health by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 725 shares of the company’s stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 0.9% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,096,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is currently 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.