Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) Receives $17.20 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $17.20.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Lelio De Souza Junior sold 26,753 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.95, for a total value of $399,957.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 16,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $243,371.05. This represents a 62.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Virgilio Deloy Capobian Gibbon sold 20,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 109,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,631,716.92. This represents a 16.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 123,547 shares of company stock worth $1,854,920 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Afya

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFYA. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Afya in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Militia Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Afya in the second quarter worth approximately $71,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Afya in the second quarter worth approximately $117,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Afya by 15.7% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 1,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Afya during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $164,000. 88.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Afya Price Performance

AFYA stock opened at $14.01 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $14.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.58. The firm has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Afya has a 12 month low of $13.00 and a 12 month high of $18.72.

Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $147.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.74 million. Afya had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 17.94%. On average, analysts anticipate that Afya 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 paid a dividend of $0.656 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 433.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 25th. Afya’s payout ratio is presently 43.14%.

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.