DaVita (NYSE:DVA) Stock Price Up 4.7% – Should You Buy?

Shares of DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA) were up 4.7% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $152.99 and last traded at $153.95. Approximately 246,974 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 787,612 shares. The stock had previously closed at $147.02.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DVA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $184.00 price objective on DaVita in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of DaVita from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of DaVita in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research 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 an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $166.33.

DaVita Trading Down 3.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $11.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $157.90.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On DaVita

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of DaVita during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $444,000. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of DaVita by 12.3% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $475,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in DaVita by 36.4% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 25,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,234,000 after purchasing an additional 6,896 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in DaVita by 800.6% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 22,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,692,000 after buying an additional 20,022 shares during the period. Finally, Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of DaVita in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,177,000. Institutional investors 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.