Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 981,800 shares, a decrease of 33.2% from the April 30th total of 1,470,000 shares. Currently, 6.6% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 118,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Morgan Stanley downgraded Afya from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Afya has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $17.60.

Afya Stock Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:AFYA traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $18.28. 136,921 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 125,400. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.74, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $18.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.07. Afya has a one year low of $14.52 and a one year high of $19.90.

Afya Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 26th were paid a $0.232 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 26th. Afya's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.42%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Afya

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Doma Perpetual Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Afya by 4.4% during the first quarter. Doma Perpetual Capital Management LLC now owns 592,220 shares of the company's stock worth $10,619,000 after buying an additional 25,111 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Afya by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 412,000 shares of the company's stock worth $6,543,000 after purchasing an additional 50,700 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Afya by 54.3% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 97,313 shares of the company's stock worth $1,545,000 after purchasing an additional 34,246 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Afya by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 82,817 shares of the company's stock worth $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 20,498 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in Afya by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 78,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 16,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.02% of the company's stock.

Afya Company Profile

Afya Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates as a medical education group in Brazil. The company operates through three segments: Undergrad, Continuing Education, and Digital Services. It offers educational products and services, including medical schools, medical residency preparatory courses, graduate courses, and other programs to lifelong medical learners enrolled across its distribution network, as well as to third-party medical schools.