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

DaVita (NYSE:DVA) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on DVA. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of DaVita in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of DaVita from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $184.00 price objective on shares of DaVita in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $166.33.

DaVita Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE DVA opened at $155.48 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $152.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.63. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $125.64 and a fifty-two week high of $179.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.04.

DaVita (NYSE:DVA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, analysts predict that DaVita will post 10.76 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On DaVita

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Copia Wealth Management bought a new position in DaVita during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of DaVita during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of DaVita by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 300 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new position in shares of DaVita in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in DaVita by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.12% of the company’s stock.

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.