Swedbank AB Grows Stock Holdings in Afya Limited $AFYA

Key Points

• Swedbank AB boosted its Afya stake by 170.3% in the fourth quarter, while other institutional investors also increased holdings; overall, hedge funds and institutions own 88.02% of the company.
• Afya’s latest earnings beat expectations, with Q1 2026 EPS of $0.55 versus $0.54 estimated and revenue of $194.96 million versus $192.95 million expected. However, the company’s full-year revenue guidance of $731.7 million to $759.5 million came in slightly below consensus.
• Sentiment remains cautious: insiders sold shares over the past 90 days, and analysts mostly rate the stock Hold, with the consensus price target at $17.20.

Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA - Free Report) by 170.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 189,200 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 119,200 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.20% of Afya worth $2,916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Doma Perpetual Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Afya by 50.6% during the third quarter. Doma Perpetual Capital Management LLC now owns 891,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,910,000 after purchasing an additional 299,419 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Afya during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,895,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Afya by 45.5% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 89,747 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,400,000 after purchasing an additional 28,053 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Afya by 11.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 86,201 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,540,000 after purchasing an additional 9,192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. 88.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Afya Price Performance

Shares of AFYA opened at $13.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $14.56 and a 200 day moving average of $14.64. Afya Limited has a twelve month low of $13.00 and a twelve month high of $19.90.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.05. Afya had a net margin of 20.31% and a return on equity of 18.77%. The business had revenue of $147.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.74 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Afya Limited will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Afya Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Afya news, CEO Virgilio Deloy Capobian Gibbon sold 20,900 shares of Afya stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.94, for a total value of $312,246.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 109,218 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,631,716.92. The trade was a 16.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luis Andre Carpintero Blanco sold 10,000 shares of Afya stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.20, for a total transaction of $152,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 51,103 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $776,765.60. This trade represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 123,547 shares of company stock worth $1,854,920 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AFYA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America lowered shares of Afya from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $22.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Afya from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Afya to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $16.00 price target (down from $18.00) on shares of Afya in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Afya in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $17.20.

Afya News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Afya this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Afya reported first-quarter 2026 results that modestly beat expectations, with EPS of $0.55 versus the $0.54 consensus and revenue of $194.96 million versus $192.95 million expected. The company also highlighted its quarterly financial results and operating performance. Afya Limited Announces First-Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also weighing additional coverage and commentary around the quarter, including an earnings snapshot and an earnings call transcript/presentation, which generally reinforce attention on the company’s latest operating trends. Afya: Q1 Earnings Snapshot
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Afya from “strong-buy” to “hold,” which may have weighed on sentiment by signaling less upside conviction after the earnings release. Zacks.com
• Negative Sentiment: The bigger offset for shares is Afya’s newly issued FY2026 revenue guidance of $731.7 million to $759.5 million, which sits slightly below the consensus estimate of $760.3 million and suggests a more cautious outlook for the year.

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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