Afya (NASDAQ:AFYA) Shares Gap Down - What's Next?

Afya Limited (NASDAQ:AFYA - Get Free Report) shares 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 traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFYA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $15.00 target price (down from $18.00) on shares of Afya in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Afya from $25.00 to $20.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered Afya from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Afya presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $17.60.

Afya Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $17.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.63. The firm has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

Afya Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 26th were paid a $0.232 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 26th. Afya's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.69%.

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Institutional Trading of Afya

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Afya by 118.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,098 shares of the company's stock worth $1,248,000 after acquiring an additional 39,592 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in Afya in the 4th quarter worth about $329,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised 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 worth $154,000 after buying an additional 2,856 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Afya by 296.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,072 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Afya in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. 88.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.