Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Short Interest Up 9.8% in November

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,130,000 shares, a growth of 9.8% from the October 31st total of 2,850,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,580,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on ELV. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $593.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $585.00 to $478.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Raymond James set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, October 18th. 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 report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $589.00 to $484.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $539.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elevance Health

In other Elevance Health news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 8,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,639,915.22. This represents a 46.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ELV. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ELV traded down $6.19 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $401.88. 866,826 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,189,722. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $442.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $502.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.83. Elevance Health has a 52-week low of $391.02 and a 52-week high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $44.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.47 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 3.68%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $8.99 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Elevance Health will post 32.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is 23.77%.

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.