Zacks Research Forecasts Lower Earnings for Elevance Health

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) – Zacks Research decreased their Q3 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Elevance Health in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, September 2nd. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the company will earn $6.54 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $7.86. The consensus estimate for Elevance Health’s current full-year earnings is $33.96 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Elevance Health’s Q4 2026 earnings at $4.35 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $32.19 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $10.65 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $37.26 EPS.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $8.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.30 by ($0.46). The business had revenue of $49.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.26 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 17.59% and a net margin of 2.83%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $10.12 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays increased their target price on Elevance Health from $327.00 to $373.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Leerink Partnrs cut Elevance Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Elevance Health from $435.00 to $425.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $478.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Elevance Health from $428.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $411.06.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

NYSE ELV opened at $313.79 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $312.04 and a 200 day moving average of $373.45. Elevance Health has a twelve month low of $273.71 and a twelve month high of $559.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Milestone Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Elevance Health by 2.2% in the first quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA raised its stake in Elevance Health by 0.4% in the first quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 6,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,743,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Elser Financial Planning Inc raised its stake in Elevance Health by 3.0% in the first quarter. Elser Financial Planning Inc now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in Elevance Health by 1.0% in the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,190,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management raised its stake in Elevance Health by 13.3% in the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In related news, Director Susan D. Devore purchased 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $312.15 per share, with a total value of $374,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 3,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,149.30. This trade represents a 52.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gail Boudreaux purchased 8,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $286.94 per share, with a total value of $2,438,990.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 151,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,333,678.80. The trade was a 5.96% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.11%.

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.