Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Short Interest Up 24.6% in June

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) saw a large growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,280,000 shares, a growth of 24.6% from the May 31st total of 1,830,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,020,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Approximately 1.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Felicia F. Norwood sold 14,111 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.74, for a total value of $7,531,605.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,460 shares in the company, valued at $16,791,460.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Elevance Health

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ELV. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Stock Up 0.3 %

ELV stock traded up $1.37 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $535.92. 1,035,206 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,026,488. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market cap of $124.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.84. Elevance Health has a 1 year low of $412.00 and a 1 year high of $550.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $534.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $509.38.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The company reported $10.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.54 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $42.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.49 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.64%. Elevance Health’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Elevance Health will post 37.25 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is 24.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ELV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Elevance Health from $628.00 to $631.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Elevance Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $643.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $649.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $611.36.

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.