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

StockNews.com downgraded shares of DaVita (NYSE:DVA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Monday morning.

DVA has been the subject of several other research reports. TheStreet raised shares of DaVita from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of DaVita from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group increased their price target on DaVita from $113.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of DaVita from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, DaVita presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $129.75.

DaVita Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE DVA opened at $137.94 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.95, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.43. DaVita has a one year low of $71.51 and a one year high of $145.04. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $134.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $114.21.

DaVita (NYSE:DVA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.43. DaVita had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 68.52%. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.58 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that DaVita will post 9.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider James O. Hearty sold 26,164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $2,424,384.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other DaVita news, CEO Javier Rodriguez sold 67,603 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.11, for a total value of $8,525,414.33. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 488,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,629,578.67. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider James O. Hearty sold 26,164 shares of DaVita stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $2,424,384.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 134,540 shares of company stock valued at $16,551,071. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of DaVita

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DVA. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of DaVita in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. purchased a new position in DaVita in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in DaVita during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in DaVita during the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of DaVita in the fourth quarter worth approximately $74,000. 90.12% of the stock is currently owned by 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.