Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Elevance Health (ELV) Stock Drops Despite Market Gains: Important Facts to Note

Read MoreHide Full Article

The most recent trading session ended with Elevance Health (ELV - Free Report) standing at $475.12, reflecting a -1.49% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.08%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.31%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.02%.

The the stock of health insurer has risen by 0.51% in the past month, lagging the Medical sector's gain of 6.57% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.52%.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Elevance Health in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to go public on January 24, 2024. The company is expected to report EPS of $5.57, up 6.5% from the prior-year quarter. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $41.93 billion, indicating a 5.7% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Elevance Health. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Elevance Health presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at valuation, Elevance Health is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 13.02. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 20.12.

Meanwhile, ELV's PEG ratio is currently 1.08. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. Medical Services stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.55 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Medical Services industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 184, putting it in the bottom 27% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Elevance Health, Inc. (ELV) - free report >>

Published in