Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS) Upgraded by BNP Paribas Exane to Strong Sell Rating

BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS) to a strong sell rating in a report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA in a report on Thursday, July 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a “strong sell” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $23.95.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA Trading Up 0.6%

FMS stock opened at $24.89 on Tuesday. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA has a 52-week low of $20.02 and a 52-week high of $27.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $13.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.10, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.91.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA had a net margin of 4.88% and a return on equity of 8.90%. The firm had revenue of $5.34 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.8716 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a dividend yield of 402.0%. This is a boost from Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA’s previous annual dividend of $0.79. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.58%.

Institutional Trading of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 398.2% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,103 shares during the period. Arax Advisory Partners raised its stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 121.6% in the 4th quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 1,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 885 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, Group One Trading LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $74,000. 8.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co KGaA is the world’s largest integrated provider of products and services for individuals with renal diseases. The company’s primary business activities encompass the operation of dialysis clinics and the manufacture and distribution of dialysis equipment, dialysis machines, dialyzers, consumables and related therapies. Through its global network of clinics, Fresenius Medical Care delivers comprehensive kidney care, including hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis treatments, patient education and support services.

In its products segment, the company designs and produces dialysis machines, water treatment systems and disposables such as high‐flux dialyzers and bloodlines.