Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $15.49, but opened at $14.96. Afya shares last traded at $15.0010, with a volume of 94,115 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Afya to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Afya in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Afya from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $16.00 price target (down from $18.00) on shares of Afya in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Afya from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.30.

Afya Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.75. The firm has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 10.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.52.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.74 million. Afya had a net margin of 20.31% and a return on equity of 18.77%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Afya Limited will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

Afya Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be paid a $0.656 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a yield of 433.0%. Afya’s payout ratio is presently 45.21%.

Institutional Trading of Afya

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Afya by 15.7% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 1,377 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in Afya in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Afya by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 68,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after buying an additional 3,626 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in Afya by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 35,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $630,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Militia Capital Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Afya during the 2nd quarter valued at $71,000. 88.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.