DaVita HealthCare (DVA) closed the most recent trading day at $140.03, moving -1.04% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.13%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 1.33%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 0.13%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the kidney dialysis provider had lost 5.56% over the past month. This has was narrower than the Medical sector's loss of 8.46% and the S&P 500's loss of 6.3% in that time.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of DaVita HealthCare in its upcoming release. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $1.75, showcasing a 26.47% downward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $3.23 billion, indicating a 5.27% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $10.76 per share and a revenue of $13.47 billion, representing changes of +11.16% and +5.08%, respectively, from the prior year.

It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for DaVita HealthCare. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. DaVita HealthCare is currently a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

In terms of valuation, DaVita HealthCare is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 13.15. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 20.35, which means DaVita HealthCare is trading at a discount to the group.

It's also important to note that DVA currently trades at a PEG ratio of 1.04. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The average PEG ratio for the Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare industry stood at 1.87 at the close of the market yesterday.

The Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 31, finds itself in the top 13% echelons of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.

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DaVita Inc. (DVA) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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