Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Short Interest Up 24.6% in June

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,280,000 shares, a growth of 24.6% from the May 31st total of 1,830,000 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,020,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elevance Health

In other news, EVP Felicia F. Norwood sold 14,111 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.74, for a total value of $7,531,605.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,791,460.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Elevance Health during the first quarter worth $32,000. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Elevance Health Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Elevance Health stock traded up $1.37 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $535.92. 1,035,206 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,026,487. The stock has a market cap of $124.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $534.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $509.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. Elevance Health has a 12-month low of $412.00 and a 12-month high of $550.34.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The company reported $10.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.54 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $42.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.49 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.64%. Elevance Health’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.46 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Elevance Health will post 37.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ELV has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective (up from $580.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group raised their target price on Elevance Health from $585.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on Elevance Health from $584.00 to $621.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $621.00 to $646.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $611.36.

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.