Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,630,000 shares, an increase of 5.2% from the December 31st total of 3,450,000 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,940,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ELV. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group decreased their target price on Elevance Health from $605.00 to $555.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Elevance Health from $643.00 to $551.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $405.40 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $517.03.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ELV opened at $405.54 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $94.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.83. Elevance Health has a 12 month low of $362.21 and a 12 month high of $567.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $386.50 and its 200 day moving average is $456.70.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 3.38%. Research analysts predict that Elevance Health will post 34.07 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Callan Capital LLC grew its stake in Elevance Health by 50.8% in the 4th quarter. Callan Capital LLC now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC grew its stake in Elevance Health by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 11,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,269,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its holdings in Elevance Health by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 489 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Dahring Cusmano LLC bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the 4th quarter valued at $377,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the 4th quarter worth $458,000. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.