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

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,450,000 shares, a growth of 22.3% from the November 30th total of 2,820,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,930,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Elevance Health stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $368.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,189,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,246,774. The firm has a market cap 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 has a twelve month low of $362.21 and a twelve month high of $567.26. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $398.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $481.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

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

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is currently 23.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ELV shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $585.00 to $478.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays lowered their target price 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. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $520.00 price objective (down previously from $620.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $600.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $539.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Elevance Health news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were 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 directly owns 8,423 shares in the company, valued at $3,639,915.22. The trade was a 46.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Elevance Health in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Elevance Health by 57.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 71 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Elevance Health Company Profile

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.