WellPoint (NYSE: WLP)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at TheStreet in a report released on Monday.
The analysts wrote, “WellPoint (WLP) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a buy with a ratings score of B . The company’s strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its increase in net income, revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, attractive valuation levels and good cash flow from operations. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had somewhat disappointing return on equity.”
Shares of WellPoint opened at 61.88 on Monday. WellPoint has a one year low of $52.52 and a one year high of $74.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $63.85. The company has a market cap of $18.814 billion and a P/E ratio of 7.56.
WellPoint last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $15.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. WellPoint’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. WellPoint has set its FY13 guidance at at least ~$7.60 EPS. Analysts expect that WellPoint will post $7.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.
A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on WLP. Analysts at Barclays Capital reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of WellPoint in a research note to investors on Tuesday, February 26th. They now have a $72.00 price target on the stock. Separately, analysts at Goldman Sachs reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of WellPoint in a research note to investors on Tuesday, February 19th. They now have a $68.00 price target on the stock. Finally, analysts at Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of WellPoint in a research note to investors on Wednesday, February 13th. They now have a $70.00 price target on the stock.
Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, one has issued an overweight rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, and one has given an underweight rating to the stock. The stock has a consensus rating of “overweight” and an average target price of $70.27.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which is scheduled for Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 6th. This is a boost from WellPoint’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29.
WellPoint, Inc. (WellPoint) is a health benefit company in terms of medical membership in the United States, serving 34.
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