Brokerages Anticipate Anthem, Inc. (NYSE:ANTM) to Announce $7.80 EPS

Brokerages expect Anthem, Inc. (NYSE:ANTM – Get Rating) to announce earnings of $7.80 per share for the current quarter, according to Zacks. Seventeen analysts have provided estimates for Anthem’s earnings, with the lowest EPS estimate coming in at $7.70 and the highest estimate coming in at $8.00. Anthem reported earnings of $7.03 per share in the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year-over-year growth rate of 11%. The company is scheduled to announce its next quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 1st.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Anthem will report full year earnings of $28.52 per share for the current year, with EPS estimates ranging from $28.25 to $29.05. For the next fiscal year, analysts expect that the firm will post earnings of $32.38 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $31.50 to $32.96. Zacks’ EPS calculations are an average based on a survey of research analysts that cover Anthem.

Anthem (NYSE:ANTM – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 20th. The company reported $8.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.81 by $0.44. Anthem had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 4.33%. The company had revenue of $38.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.01 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Several brokerages have commented on ANTM. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Anthem from $575.00 to $625.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 21st. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Anthem in a research note on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “strong-buy” rating for the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Anthem from $477.00 to $541.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 29th. Cowen increased their price target on shares of Anthem from $472.00 to $642.00 in a report on Thursday, April 21st. Finally, SVB Leerink boosted their price objective on Anthem from $483.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Anthem presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $543.64.

ANTM stock opened at $501.93 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $485.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $453.90. Anthem has a one year low of $355.43 and a one year high of $533.68. The company has a market capitalization of $121.01 billion, a PE ratio of 19.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.05.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 10th will be given a $1.28 dividend. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. This is a positive change from Anthem’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 9th. Anthem’s payout ratio is presently 20.16%.

In other Anthem news, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 2,423 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.68, for a total value of $1,123,496.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Peter D. Haytaian sold 17,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.71, for a total value of $8,155,949.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,889 shares of company stock worth $10,532,411. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Anthem during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,128,341,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Anthem in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $381,379,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Anthem by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,955,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,101,739,000 after buying an additional 671,275 shares during the last quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Anthem by 51.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 1,732,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $645,945,000 after acquiring an additional 588,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in shares of Anthem by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,582,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,124,085,000 after acquiring an additional 587,649 shares during the period. 84.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Anthem (Get Rating)

Anthem, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a health benefits company in the United States. It operates through four segments: Commercial & Specialty Business, Government Business, IngenioRx, and Other. The company offers a spectrum of network-based managed care health benefit plans to large and small groups, individuals, Medicaid, and Medicare markets.

Featured Stories