Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) in a research report report published on Friday morning. The firm issued a strong-buy rating on the stock.

Separately, Morgan Stanley cut Fresenius Medical Care from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fresenius Medical Care has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $32.25.

Fresenius Medical Care Stock Performance

Shares of FMS opened at $20.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $19.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.46. Fresenius Medical Care has a 52 week low of $16.37 and a 52 week high of $27.72. The stock has a market cap of $11.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.00.

Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.11. Fresenius Medical Care had a return on equity of 4.99% and a net margin of 2.56%. The firm had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.32 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fresenius Medical Care will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fresenius Medical Care Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.437 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a yield of 2.35%. Fresenius Medical Care’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.65%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fresenius Medical Care

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. purchased a new stake in Fresenius Medical Care during the 1st quarter valued at $1,293,000. Veracity Capital LLC raised its stake in Fresenius Medical Care by 172.2% during the 1st quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 53,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after buying an additional 33,543 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fresenius Medical Care during the 1st quarter valued at $584,000. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC raised its stake in Fresenius Medical Care by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC now owns 38,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $748,000 after buying an additional 2,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Fresenius Medical Care by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. 8.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fresenius Medical Care Company Profile

Fresenius Medical Care AG provides dialysis and related services for individuals with renal diseases in Germany, North America, and internationally. The company offers dialysis treatment and related laboratory and diagnostic services through a network of outpatient dialysis clinics; materials, training, and patient support services comprising clinical monitoring, follow-up assistance, and arranging for delivery of the supplies to the patient's residence; and dialysis services under contract to hospitals in the United States for the hospitalized end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients and for patients suffering from acute kidney failure.