DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $166.33.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on DaVita from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $184.00 price objective on DaVita in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com cut DaVita from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of DaVita in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th.

DaVita Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DVA opened at $148.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.18. DaVita has a 12-month low of $125.64 and a 12-month high of $179.60. The business’s 50 day moving average is $158.53 and its 200 day moving average is $157.48.

DaVita (NYSE:DVA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.10. DaVita had a return on equity of 115.48% and a net margin of 7.31%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that DaVita will post 10.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of DaVita

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of DaVita by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of DaVita by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in shares of DaVita by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 5,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $869,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of DaVita by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of DaVita by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $531,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 90.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.