Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $16.99, but opened at $16.48. Afya shares last traded at $17.30, with a volume of 17,880 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AFYA shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $15.00 price target (down from $18.00) on shares of Afya in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Afya from $25.00 to $20.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of 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 research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $17.60.

Afya Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.23 and a 200 day moving average of $16.62.

Afya Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a — dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 26th were issued a $0.232 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 26th. Afya’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Afya

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFYA. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Afya by 118.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 39,592 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Afya in the 3rd quarter valued at $842,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Afya during the 4th quarter worth about $329,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Afya by 41.9% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,000 after acquiring an additional 2,856 shares during the period. Finally, Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in Afya in the 3rd quarter valued at about $213,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.02% of the company’s stock.

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.