Head to Head Survey: CochLear (OTCMKTS:CHEOY) and Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV)

CochLear (OTCMKTS:CHEOY) and Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, valuation, profitability and earnings.

Risk and Volatility

CochLear has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Elevance Health has a beta of 0.59, suggesting that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

CochLear pays an annual dividend of $1.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Elevance Health pays an annual dividend of $6.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Elevance Health pays out 29.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Elevance Health has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Elevance Health is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares CochLear and Elevance Health”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CochLear	$1.53 billion	7.89	$251.85 million	N/A	N/A
Elevance Health	$177.01 billion	0.45	$5.98 billion	$23.50	15.03

Elevance Health has higher revenue and earnings than CochLear.

Profitability

This table compares CochLear and Elevance Health’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CochLear	N/A	N/A	N/A
Elevance Health	2.83%	17.59%	6.36%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for CochLear and Elevance Health, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CochLear	0	3	0	2	2.80
Elevance Health	0	8	12	0	2.60

Elevance Health has a consensus price target of $412.00, suggesting a potential upside of 16.62%. Given Elevance Health’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Elevance Health is more favorable than CochLear.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

89.2% of Elevance Health shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Elevance Health shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Elevance Health beats CochLear on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CochLear

Cochlear Limited provides implantable hearing solutions for children and adults worldwide. It offers cochlear implant systems, sound processor upgrades, bone conduction systems, accessories, and other products. Cochlear Limited was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Sydney, Australia.

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. The company operates in the pharmacy services business; and markets and offers pharmacy services, including pharmacy benefit management, as well as home delivery and specialty pharmacies, claims adjudication, formulary management, pharmacy networks, rebate administration, a prescription drug database, and member services. In addition, it provides healthcare-related services and capabilities, including utilization management, behavioral health, integrated care delivery, palliative care, payment integrity services, subrogation services, and health and wellness programs, as well as services related to data management, information technology, and business operations. Further, the company is involved in the National Government Services business. The company provides its services under the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Wellpoint, and Carelon brand names. The company was formerly known as Anthem, Inc. and changed its name to Elevance Health, Inc. in June 2022. Elevance Health, Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.