223,291 Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. $AVAH Shares Sold by Smith Group Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Smith Group Asset Management reduced its Aveanna Healthcare position by 71.3%, selling 223,291 shares and retaining 89,979 shares worth approximately $1.12 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 87.96%, with BlackRock initiating a stake and Braidwell and Dimensional Fund Advisors increasing their positions.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, giving AVAH a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $14.25, above its reported opening price of $13.06.

Smith Group Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAH - Free Report) by 71.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89,979 shares of the company's stock after selling 223,291 shares during the period. Smith Group Asset Management LLC's holdings in Aveanna Healthcare were worth $1,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Aveanna Healthcare in the second quarter worth about $63,504,000. Braidwell LP increased its position in Aveanna Healthcare by 39.1% during the 2nd quarter. Braidwell LP now owns 3,065,106 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,268,000 after purchasing an additional 861,600 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Aveanna Healthcare by 49.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,334,374 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,593,000 after purchasing an additional 441,707 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Aveanna Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,881,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Aveanna Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,124,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AVAH. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $9.50 to $15.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Aveanna Healthcare from $10.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Aveanna Healthcare from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aveanna Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Aveanna Healthcare from $8.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $14.25.

Aveanna Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of AVAH opened at $13.06 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.95. Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $5.93 and a twelve month high of $14.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $13.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.21.

Aveanna Healthcare (NASDAQ:AVAH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $670.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $638.61 million. Aveanna Healthcare had a return on equity of 80.70% and a net margin of 10.56%. As a group, analysts predict that Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. will post 0.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Aveanna Healthcare

In other news, Director Rodney D. Windley sold 180,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.50, for a total transaction of $2,070,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,078,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,897,195.50. This trade represents a 7.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jeff Shaner sold 90,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.50, for a total value of $1,035,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,561,972 shares in the company, valued at $29,462,678. This trade represents a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 48,566,081 shares of company stock valued at $558,509,932 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.30% of the company's stock.

Aveanna Healthcare Company Profile

Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc NASDAQ: AVAH is a provider of home-based healthcare services in the United States. The company serves patients across the lifespan, with a particular focus on children and adults who require ongoing medical support, skilled nursing or assistance with daily activities.

Aveanna's services include private-duty nursing, home health care, hospice and palliative care, therapy, medical solutions and personal-care services. Its clinicians and caregivers support patients with complex medical conditions, disabilities and other needs in their homes and community settings, working with patients, families, physicians and healthcare organizations.

The company was established in 2016 through the combination of Pediatric Services of America and Epic Health Services and became a publicly traded company in 2021.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AVAH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAH - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.