Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) vs. Shanghai Pharmaceuticals (OTCMKTS:SHPMF) Critical Review

Shanghai Pharmaceuticals (OTCMKTS:SHPMF) and Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk and profitability.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Shanghai Pharmaceuticals and Elevance Health”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Shanghai Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.93	1.51
Elevance Health	$199.12 billion	0.44	$5.66 billion	$22.50	17.89

Elevance Health has higher revenue and earnings than Shanghai Pharmaceuticals. Shanghai Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Elevance Health, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Shanghai Pharmaceuticals pays an annual dividend of $0.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 18.7%. Elevance Health pays an annual dividend of $6.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Shanghai Pharmaceuticals pays out 28.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Elevance Health pays out 30.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Elevance Health has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Shanghai Pharmaceuticals is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Shanghai Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	N/A
Elevance Health	2.47%	14.64%	5.22%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Shanghai Pharmaceuticals and Elevance Health, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Shanghai Pharmaceuticals	0	0	0	0	0.00
Elevance Health	0	8	15	0	2.65

Elevance Health has a consensus price target of $440.90, suggesting a potential upside of 9.51%. Given Elevance Health’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Elevance Health is more favorable than Shanghai Pharmaceuticals.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

6.8% of Shanghai Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.2% of Elevance Health shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Elevance Health shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Elevance Health beats Shanghai Pharmaceuticals on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Shanghai Pharmaceuticals

Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co., Ltd. engages research, development, manufacture, distribution, and retailing of pharmaceutical and healthcare products in China and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Production, Distribution, Retail, and Others. It offers chemicals and biochemicals, Chinese medicines, healthcare products, and medical devices in various therapeutic areas, including digestive system, immune metabolism, motor neuron disease, endocrinology, cardiovascular, psychoneurotic, neoplasm, autoimmunity, systemic anti-infection, mental nerve, anti-tumor, oncology, respiratory system, nervous system, auto-immunity, hypertension, neuromyelitis, diabetes, anticholinesterase, polypeptide hormones uterine tonic, antihistamine, anti-inflammatory, anesthetic, immunomodulatory, antiviral, reflux esophagitis, analgesics, weight management, malignant peritoneal effusion, ulcerative colitis, myasthenia gravis, burn injury, anticoagulant, anti-epileptic, anticonvulsant, Alzheimer’s, and inflammatory bowel diseases. The company also engages in the provision of pharmaceutical distribution, warehousing, logistics, and other value-added pharmaceutical supply chain solutions and related services to pharmaceutical manufacturers and dispensers, such as hospitals, distributors, and retail pharmacies. In addition, it engages in the operation of a network of retail pharmacy stores. The company was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Shanghai, China.

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.