Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Short Interest Up 6.7% in October

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,850,000 shares, an increase of 6.7% from the October 15th total of 2,670,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,370,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Elevance Health stock traded down $6.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $394.48. The company had a trading volume of 890,121 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,164,660. 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 has a 12-month low of $393.72 and a 12-month high of $567.26. The company’s fifty day moving average is $472.43 and its 200-day moving average is $512.56. The company has a market capitalization of $91.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.85.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $44.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.99 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Elevance Health will post 32.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.77%.

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 dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $432.14, for a total value of $3,205,182.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,639,915.22. The trade was a 46.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Elevance Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. American Trust increased its position in shares of Elevance Health by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. American Trust now owns 775 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Private Ocean LLC increased its position in shares of Elevance Health by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Private Ocean LLC now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Elevance Health by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 1,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $666,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC increased its position in shares of Elevance Health by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 679 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Elevance Health by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 602 shares of the company’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $643.00 to $551.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $622.00 to $501.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $600.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $585.00 to $478.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $539.20.

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.