DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $162.80.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of DaVita in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays upped their price target on DaVita from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th.

DaVita Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DVA opened at $141.96 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.94. DaVita has a 1-year low of $124.42 and a 1-year high of $179.60. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.18, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On DaVita

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DVA. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of DaVita during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $135,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in DaVita by 17.2% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in DaVita during the third quarter valued at $213,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of DaVita by 56.4% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 330 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of DaVita by 93.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 31,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,134,000 after buying an additional 15,138 shares during the last quarter. 90.12% of the stock is 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.