DaVita (NYSE:DVA) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

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

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on DaVita from $113.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on DaVita from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays began coverage on DaVita in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $133.00 target price for the company. Finally, TheStreet upgraded DaVita from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, DaVita currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.50.

DaVita Stock Up 0.5 %

DVA stock opened at $133.50 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.04. DaVita has a twelve month low of $71.51 and a twelve month high of $141.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.47.

DaVita (NYSE:DVA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.34. DaVita had a return on equity of 64.42% and a net margin of 5.70%. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. DaVita’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that DaVita will post 9.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider James O. Hearty sold 26,164 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 20,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,424,384.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Javier Rodriguez sold 67,603 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was 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 owns 488,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,629,578.67. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider James O. Hearty sold 26,164 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 20,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,424,384.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 134,540 shares of company stock valued at $16,551,071 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On DaVita

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in DaVita in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in DaVita in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. bought a new position in DaVita in the third quarter worth $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in DaVita in the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in DaVita in the fourth quarter worth $74,000. Institutional investors own 90.12% of the company’s stock.

DaVita Company Profile

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.