DaVita (NYSE:DVA) Upgraded to Strong-Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of DaVita (NYSE:DVA) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

DVA has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of DaVita from $113.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on DaVita from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays began coverage on DaVita in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an equal weight rating and a $133.00 target price for the company. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of DaVita from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, DaVita presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $118.50.

DaVita Stock Performance

NYSE DVA opened at $133.51 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $132.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.65. DaVita has a twelve month low of $71.51 and a twelve month high of $141.54. The company has a market capitalization of $11.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Insider Transactions at DaVita

In related news, insider James O. Hearty sold 26,164 shares of the firm’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 sale, 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 accessible through this link. In other DaVita news, insider Kathleen Alyce Waters sold 11,285 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $9,814,986.81. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider James O. Hearty sold 26,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.64, for a total value of $3,130,260.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 20,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in DaVita during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of DaVita in the third quarter worth $36,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in DaVita in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in DaVita during the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in DaVita by 242.3% during the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 712 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.