Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Downgraded to Sector Perform Rating by Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has $358.00 price target on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on ELV. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Elevance Health in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $343.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Elevance Health from $297.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Elevance Health from $431.00 to $409.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $425.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $390.55.

Elevance Health Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE ELV opened at $338.66 on Tuesday. Elevance Health has a 12-month low of $273.71 and a 12-month high of $458.75. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $351.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $329.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $75.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.50.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.23. Elevance Health had a net margin of 2.84% and a return on equity of 15.59%. The company had revenue of $49.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Elevance Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 25.500- EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Elevance Health will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.72 per share. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.71. This represents a $6.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.23%.

Institutional Trading of Elevance Health

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELV. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Elevance Health by 331.6% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC grew its position in Elevance Health by 110.0% in the third quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 84 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 94.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 76 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

More Elevance Health News

Here are the key news stories impacting Elevance Health this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target slightly from $394 to $397 and maintained an “overweight” rating, which supports upside vs. the current price. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Options-market activity is drawing attention — some traders see positioning that could presage larger moves, but this is speculative and not a direct fundamental change. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Seeking Alpha published a long-form take (“It Has Been Painful, But This Too Shall Pass”) arguing the near-term weakness is cyclical and could reverse — useful for longer-term investors but less likely to move stock intraday. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: The Globe and Mail aggregated analyst commentary on multiple healthcare names including Elevance; helpful context but no single decisive call. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: RBC downgraded ELV from “outperform” to “sector perform” and set a $358 target — a downgrade in stance that likely pressured sentiment despite a modestly positive target. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Truist trimmed its price target from $400 to $390 while keeping a “buy” rating — the lower target reduces upside expectations and can weigh on the stock. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies cut its price target to $395, another downward revision that adds to the negative analyst tone. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein lowered its target to $409 — still above the current price but a cut nonetheless, contributing to the cluster of downward revisions. Read More.

About Elevance Health

Elevance Health, Inc (NYSE: ELV) is a large U.S.-based health benefits company that provides a broad range of health insurance products and related services. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the company rebranded from Anthem, Inc to Elevance Health in 2022 while continuing to operate consumer-facing health plans under established state and national brands. Gail Boudreaux serves as chief executive officer and president, leading the company’s strategic focus on integrated health care and benefit delivery.

Elevance’s core activities include offering medical and specialty health plans for individuals, employers and government programs, including Medicare and Medicaid managed-care products.