Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $11.00 price objective on the stock.

AVAH has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Zacks Research cut Aveanna Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Aveanna Healthcare from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $6.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Aveanna Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays raised shares of Aveanna Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $5.50 to $9.50 in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $11.00 to $12.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.19.

Aveanna Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of Aveanna Healthcare stock opened at $8.45 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 140.39, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47 and a beta of 2.04. Aveanna Healthcare has a one year low of $3.67 and a one year high of $10.32.

Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 22nd. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter. Aveanna Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 143.55% and a net margin of 3.29%.The company had revenue of $450.53 million for the quarter. Analysts forecast that Aveanna Healthcare will post -0.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Robert M. Williams, Jr. sold 1,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total transaction of $13,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 362,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,264,714. The trade was a 80.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Paul R. Vigano sold 1,500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total transaction of $13,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 362,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,264,714. This represents a 80.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 32,597,968 shares of company stock worth $293,381,712. 7.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aveanna Healthcare

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AVAH. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Aveanna Healthcare by 50.9% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 49,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 16,835 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Aveanna Healthcare by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 114,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $623,000 after buying an additional 4,655 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Aveanna Healthcare by 145.9% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 263,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,429,000 after acquiring an additional 156,439 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its position in Aveanna Healthcare by 159.9% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 65,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 40,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Aveanna Healthcare by 71.1% during the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 326,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,768,000 after buying an additional 135,574 shares in the last quarter. 87.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aveanna Healthcare Company Profile

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc, a diversified home care platform company, provides pediatric and adult healthcare services in the United States. Its patient-centered care delivery platform allows patients to remain in their homes and minimizes the overutilization of high-cost care settings, such as hospitals or skilled nursing facilities.