Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) Trading Down 6.8% - Time to Sell?

Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA - Get Free Report) dropped 6.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $18.78 and last traded at $18.29. Approximately 113,654 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 9% from the average daily volume of 124,728 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.61.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFYA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $15.00 price target (down from $18.00) on shares of Afya in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Afya from $25.00 to $20.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Afya from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Afya presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $17.60.

Afya Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $17.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of 15.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.60.

Afya Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 26th were paid a dividend of $0.232 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 26th. Afya's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.69%.

Institutional Trading of Afya

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Afya by 296.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,072 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,550 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in Afya by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 2,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Afya by 1,099.7% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,031 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 3,695 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Afya by 2,115.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,670 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 6,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Afya by 47.6% during the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 9,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. 88.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Afya

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.

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