Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Short Interest Update

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) saw a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,450,000 shares, an increase of 22.3% from the November 30th total of 2,820,000 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,930,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Elevance Health stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $368.90. 1,205,806 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,248,046. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Elevance Health has a one year low of $362.21 and a one year high of $567.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $398.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $481.34. The company has a market cap of $85.56 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.83.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $8.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.66 by ($1.29). The company had revenue of $44.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.47 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.68% and a return on equity of 19.56%. Elevance Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.99 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Elevance Health will post 32.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on ELV shares. Stephens reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Elevance Health from $585.00 to $478.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Elevance Health from $585.00 to $505.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Raymond James set a $485.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $622.00 to $501.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $539.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elevance Health

In other news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $432.14, for a total value of $3,205,182.38. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,639,915.22. The trade was a 46.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELV. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Elevance Health in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Elevance Health in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 57.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 71 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

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.