DaVita (NYSE:DVA) Downgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

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

DVA has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays boosted their target price on DaVita from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial boosted their target price on DaVita from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. TheStreet upgraded DaVita from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on DaVita from $113.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.33.

DaVita Stock Performance

Shares of DaVita stock opened at $137.79 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $134.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.04. DaVita has a 12 month low of $71.51 and a 12 month high of $145.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.95.

DaVita (NYSE:DVA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. DaVita had a return on equity of 68.52% and a net margin of 6.61%. DaVita’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that DaVita will post 9.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James O. Hearty sold 26,164 shares of DaVita stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.64, for a total value of $3,130,260.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,264 shares in the company, valued at $2,424,384.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider James O. Hearty sold 26,164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.64, for a total transaction of $3,130,260.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,264 shares in the company, valued at $2,424,384.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Kathleen Alyce Waters sold 11,285 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.73, for a total value of $1,362,438.05. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 81,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,814,986.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 134,540 shares of company stock worth $16,551,071. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On DaVita

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of DaVita in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of DaVita in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of DaVita in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of DaVita in the 4th quarter worth about $60,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of DaVita in the 4th quarter worth about $74,000. 90.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.