Zacks Research Forecasts Lower Earnings for Elevance Health

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for shares of Elevance Health in a research note issued on Tuesday, February 10th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the company will earn $10.40 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $11.38. Zacks Research currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. 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 Q2 2026 earnings at $6.30 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $25.53 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $10.45 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $7.20 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $4.75 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $28.40 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on ELV. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $297.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Elevance Health from $431.00 to $409.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Elevance Health from $414.00 to $396.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Elevance Health from $400.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Mizuho set a $413.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, January 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Elevance Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $390.55.

Elevance Health Stock Up 3.1%

NYSE:ELV opened at $346.49 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $352.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $331.73. The company has a market cap of $76.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.50. Elevance Health has a twelve month low of $273.71 and a twelve month high of $458.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.23. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 15.59% and a net margin of 2.84%.The company had revenue of $49.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.84 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Elevance Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 25.500- EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Elevance Health by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,998,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,431,322,000 after acquiring an additional 141,747 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 4.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,621,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,139,473,000 after purchasing an additional 303,099 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Elevance Health by 24.7% in the second quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 5,825,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,265,773,000 after buying an additional 1,152,440 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 4,576,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,478,857,000 after buying an additional 901,626 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,022,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,410,219,000 after buying an additional 24,271 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

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

Key Stories Impacting Elevance Health

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised its Q4 2027 EPS forecast to $4.75 (from $3.48), a sign that Zacks expects stronger late‑year profitability which could support the stock if sustained. Elevance Health (ELV) on MarketBeat
• Neutral Sentiment: MSN ran a stock‑perspective piece highlighting two reasons to like ELV and one caveat; the article reinforces bullish arguments around Elevance’s scale and business stability but also flags at least one risk investors should weigh. 2 reasons to like ELV (and 1 not so much)
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks issued multiple cuts to near‑term and full‑year estimates — lowering FY2026 (to $25.53 from $29.01), FY2027 (to $28.40 from $31.89) and trimming several Q1/Q2 2026–2027 quarterly forecasts — which signals weaker expected growth in the coming quarters and is a potential headwind for the stock. Zacks Research Lowers Earnings Estimates for Elevance Health

Elevance Health Company Profile

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.