DaVita (NYSE:DVA) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of DaVita (NYSE:DVA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

Several other research firms also recently commented on DVA. Barclays upped their target price on DaVita from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $184.00 price target on DaVita in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of DaVita in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, DaVita currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $166.33.

DaVita Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:DVA opened at $149.37 on Wednesday. DaVita has a 52-week low of $125.64 and a 52-week high of $179.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.18, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $11.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.28.

DaVita (NYSE:DVA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that DaVita will post 10.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On DaVita

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in DaVita by 2.6% in the fourth 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 fourth quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of DaVita by 1.3% in 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 period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in DaVita by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in DaVita by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $531,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 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.