Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $396.90, but opened at $407.38. Elevance Health shares last traded at $413.1280, with a volume of 142,694 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ELV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Elevance Health from $331.00 to $393.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Elevance Health from $411.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Elevance Health from $492.00 to $473.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $363.00 to $498.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $400.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $440.90.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $89.36 billion, a PE ratio of 18.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $397.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $365.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $7.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.21 by $1.24. The firm had revenue of $49.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.88 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 14.64% and a net margin of 2.47%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.84 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 27.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.72 per share. This represents a $6.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is presently 30.58%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 37,390.0% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 124,019,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,962,127,000 after acquiring an additional 123,688,863 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Elevance Health during the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,344,424,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Elevance Health by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,213,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,563,142,000 after purchasing an additional 984,976 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Elevance Health by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,446,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,610,261,000 after purchasing an additional 1,607,274 shares during the period. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Elevance Health by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 5,032,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,764,231,000 after purchasing an additional 455,946 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Company Profile

Elevance Health, Inc is a health benefits and services company that provides health insurance, care management and related healthcare solutions in the United States. The company serves individuals, employers and government-sponsored programs through a portfolio that includes commercial health plans, Medicare Advantage and other Medicare products, Medicaid plans, and specialty coverage.

Elevance Health operates a portfolio of Blue Cross Blue Shield-affiliated health plans and offers products such as medical, pharmacy, dental and vision benefits.