Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Short Interest Up 6.7% in October

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,850,000 shares, a growth of 6.7% from the October 15th total of 2,670,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,370,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In other news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $432.14, for a total value of $3,205,182.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,639,915.22. This trade represents a 46.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ELV. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Elevance Health Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE ELV traded down $6.22 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $394.48. 890,121 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,164,660. The business’s 50 day moving average is $472.43 and its 200-day moving average is $512.56. Elevance Health has a 12-month low of $393.72 and a 12-month high of $567.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.50.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $8.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.66 by ($1.29). Elevance Health had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 3.68%. The business had revenue of $44.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $8.99 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Elevance Health will post 32.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Elevance Health from $605.00 to $555.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $520.00 price objective (down previously from $620.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Elevance Health from $622.00 to $501.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Elevance Health from $643.00 to $551.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on Elevance Health from $585.00 to $505.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $539.20.

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.