Brokerages Set Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) PT at $17.20

Shares of Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $17.20.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Afya from $22.00 to $21.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America downgraded Afya from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered Afya from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded Afya from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Afya in a research note on Monday, April 20th.

Afya Trading Down 2.2%

NASDAQ AFYA opened at $13.75 on Friday. Afya has a 52 week low of $13.00 and a 52 week high of $18.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $14.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 8.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.36.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $147.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.74 million. Afya had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 17.94%. As a group, research analysts expect that Afya will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Afya Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th were issued a $0.656 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a dividend yield of 433.0%. Afya’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.14%.

Insider Transactions at Afya

In related news, CEO Virgilio Deloy Capobian Gibbon sold 20,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 109,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,631,716.92. The trade was a 16.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luis Andre Carpintero Blanco sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.20, for a total transaction of $152,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 51,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $776,765.60. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 123,547 shares of company stock worth $1,854,920. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Afya

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Afya during the 4th quarter worth approximately $215,000. Mangrove Partners IM LLC purchased a new stake in Afya in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $197,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Afya by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 126,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,955,000 after buying an additional 26,005 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Afya by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 39,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $612,000 after acquiring an additional 12,365 shares during the period. Finally, Banco BTG Pactual S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Afya during the fourth quarter worth approximately $462,000. 88.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Afya Company Profile

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.