Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Hits New 12-Month Low After Earnings Miss

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) shares reached a new 52-week low on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $431.12 and last traded at $431.12, with a volume of 134470 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $496.96.

The company reported $8.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.74 by ($1.37). The company had revenue of $44.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.47 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.89% and a return on equity of 20.64%. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.99 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ELV. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $530.00 price target (down from $646.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $611.00 to $622.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $600.00 to $593.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $624.00 to $589.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $605.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $531.52, for a total transaction of $400,234.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,647,610.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Elevance Health news, CEO Gail Boudreaux sold 34,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.98, for a total value of $17,033,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,478,674.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $531.52, for a total transaction of $400,234.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,647,610.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 34.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,062,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,117,698,000 after purchasing an additional 523,910 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the 1st quarter valued at about $203,389,000. Maj Invest Holding A S bought a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the 2nd quarter valued at about $173,753,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,058,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,115,301,000 after purchasing an additional 275,708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the 1st quarter valued at about $109,435,000. 89.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.49. The firm has a market cap of $103.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $528.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $528.05.

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.