Raymond James & Associates Grows Holdings in Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA)

Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) by 134.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,695 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,878 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Afya were worth $607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its stake in Afya by 1,004.5% in the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 144,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,279,000 after acquiring an additional 131,202 shares in the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP purchased a new position in Afya during the 3rd quarter worth $1,686,000. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. bought a new stake in Afya during the 3rd quarter valued at $223,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Afya in the 3rd quarter worth $183,000. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Afya during the 3rd quarter worth $159,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.02% of the company’s stock.

Afya Price Performance

Shares of AFYA stock opened at $16.62 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.16 and its 200 day moving average is $19.36. Afya Limited has a 1-year low of $10.72 and a 1-year high of $22.48.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. Afya had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 15.88%. The firm had revenue of $147.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $141.83 million. Research analysts predict that Afya Limited will post 1.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AFYA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded Afya from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $20.50 to $23.00 in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Afya in a research report on Monday, January 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $23.00 price target for the company.

Afya Profile

Afya Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates as a medical education group in Brazil. The company operates through three segments: Undergrad, Continuing Education, and Digital Services. It offers educational products and services, including medical schools, medical residency preparatory courses, graduate courses, and other programs to lifelong medical learners enrolled across its distribution network, as well as to third-party medical schools.