Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) VP De Sousa Anibal Jose Grifo Sells 5,000 Shares

Key Points

• Afya VP De Sousa Anibal Jose Grifo sold 5,000 shares on April 7 at an average price of $15.20 for $76,000, reducing his ownership by 10% to 45,000 shares, per an SEC filing.
• Afya beat quarterly EPS estimates with $0.41 vs. $0.36 but missed revenue expectations ($147.08M vs. $174.74M), and the company recently paid an annual dividend of $0.656 per share.
• The stock traded near $15.23 with a market cap of $1.43B, about 88% institutional ownership, and a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" with an average target of $17.30.

Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA - Get Free Report) VP De Sousa Anibal Jose Grifo sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.20, for a total transaction of $76,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at $684,000. The trade was a 10.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Afya Trading Up 1.9%

NASDAQ:AFYA traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $15.23. 127,845 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 118,159. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.43, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.48. Afya Limited has a 52 week low of $13.00 and a 52 week high of $19.90. The firm's 50 day moving average is $14.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $147.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.74 million. Afya had a net margin of 20.31% and a return on equity of 18.77%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Afya Limited will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Afya Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th were given a $0.656 dividend. This represents a yield of 433.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 25th. Afya's payout ratio is 45.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Afya

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AFYA. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Afya by 167.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 45,093 shares of the company's stock valued at $809,000 after purchasing an additional 28,226 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Afya by 85.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,111 shares of the company's stock valued at $931,000 after purchasing an additional 23,961 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Afya during the second quarter valued at approximately $117,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Afya by 5.6% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 68,169 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 3,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Afya during the second quarter valued at approximately $249,000. 88.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on AFYA. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Afya to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Afya from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Afya in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Bank of America cut shares of Afya from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Afya from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $17.30.

About Afya

Afya Ltd. operates as a leading provider of medical education and training services in Brazil. The company offers a comprehensive suite of educational programs that span undergraduate medical degrees, residency exam preparation, continuing medical education (CME) and digital learning platforms. Through a network of partner institutions and its own campus operations, Afya supports students at every stage of the medical training continuum, from enrollment in medical schools to ongoing professional development for practicing physicians.

At the core of Afya's offerings is its undergraduate medical program, delivered through a combination of in-person courses at affiliated campuses and fully digital curricula.

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