StockNews.com Downgrades DaVita (NYSE:DVA) to Buy

DaVita (NYSE:DVA) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on DaVita from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 13th. UBS Group upgraded shares of DaVita from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $100.00 to $142.00 in a report on Monday, August 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, DaVita has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.29.

DaVita Stock Performance

NYSE:DVA opened at $98.39 on Wednesday. DaVita has a 1-year low of $65.28 and a 1-year high of $116.97. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.96. The firm has a market cap of $8.98 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.13, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

DaVita (NYSE:DVA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. DaVita had a return on equity of 60.67% and a net margin of 3.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that DaVita will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at DaVita

In other news, insider Kathleen Alyce Waters sold 9,794 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.81, for a total value of $997,127.14. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 81,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,276,847.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On DaVita

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Resources Management Corp CT ADV grew its stake in shares of DaVita by 5,900.0% in the 2nd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 300 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in DaVita by 88.6% in the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of DaVita in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of DaVita in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of DaVita by 55.1% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.69% of the company’s stock.

About DaVita

DaVita Inc provides kidney dialysis services for patients suffering from chronic kidney failure in the United States. The company operates kidney dialysis centers and provides related lab services in outpatient dialysis centers. It also offers outpatient, hospital inpatient, and home-based hemodialysis services; operates clinical laboratories that provide routine laboratory tests for dialysis and other physician-prescribed laboratory tests for ESRD patients; and management and administrative services to outpatient dialysis centers.