Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Short Interest Up 22.3% in December

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. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,930,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elevance Health

In related news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $432.14, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 46.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 24.7% during the second quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 4,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,187,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its stake in Elevance Health by 9.7% during the second quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the second quarter valued at $445,000. Legacy Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 15.9% in the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $832,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ELV traded up $0.10 on Tuesday, hitting $368.90. 1,189,281 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,246,774. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $398.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $481.34. Elevance Health has a one year low of $362.21 and a one year high of $567.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.45, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.83.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $8.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.66 by ($1.29). Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.68% and a return on equity of 19.56%. The firm had revenue of $44.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.99 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Elevance Health will post 32.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ELV. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $520.00 price target (down previously from $620.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays lowered their target price 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on Elevance Health from $600.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Elevance Health from $643.00 to $551.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.