DaVita (NYSE:DVA) Upgraded by StockNews.com to "Buy" Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of DaVita (NYSE:DVA - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on DVA. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $184.00 price objective on DaVita in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of DaVita from $164.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of DaVita in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $166.33.

DaVita Price Performance

NYSE:DVA traded down $2.87 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $148.01. The company had a trading volume of 75,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 822,626. The company has a market capitalization of $11.84 billion, a PE ratio of 13.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.18. DaVita has a 52-week low of $125.64 and a 52-week high of $179.60. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $151.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.51.

DaVita (NYSE:DVA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that DaVita will post 10.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On DaVita

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of DaVita by 65.5% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 192 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Copia Wealth Management purchased a new position in DaVita during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in DaVita in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of DaVita by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 300 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in shares of DaVita in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. 90.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.