DaVita (NYSE:DVA) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $158.31, but opened at $148.02. DaVita shares last traded at $147.88, with a volume of 202,558 shares.

The company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.76 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. DaVita had a return on equity of 77.00% and a net margin of 6.86%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.85 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on DaVita from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America raised their price target on DaVita from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on DaVita from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of DaVita from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $159.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Javier Rodriguez sold 32,176 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.93, for a total transaction of $5,017,203.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 905,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141,219,407.87. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other DaVita news, CEO Javier Rodriguez sold 32,176 shares of DaVita stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.93, for a total transaction of $5,017,203.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 905,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141,219,407.87. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Joel Ackerman sold 64,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.06, for a total value of $9,928,336.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 111,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,286,243.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 173,482 shares of company stock valued at $27,387,069 in the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Harvard Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of DaVita during the second quarter worth $55,115,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of DaVita by 147.3% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 256,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,460,000 after buying an additional 153,008 shares in the last quarter. Andra AP fonden lifted its stake in DaVita by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 192,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,647,000 after acquiring an additional 15,800 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc boosted its position in DaVita by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 189,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,719,000 after acquiring an additional 2,180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of DaVita by 146.7% during the 1st quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 187,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,840,000 after acquiring an additional 111,311 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.12% of the company’s stock.

DaVita Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $12.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $158.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.94, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

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.