Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at StockNews.com

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

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

Fresenius Medical Care Stock Down 6.1 %

Shares of NYSE:FMS opened at $20.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.95. Fresenius Medical Care has a 12 month low of $16.37 and a 12 month high of $27.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $19.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.65.

Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.32 billion. Fresenius Medical Care had a return on equity of 4.99% and a net margin of 2.56%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Fresenius Medical Care will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Fresenius Medical Care Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.437 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a yield of 2.35%. Fresenius Medical Care’s payout ratio is currently 45.65%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Fresenius Medical Care by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC increased its position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 10,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Fresenius Medical Care by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its position in Fresenius Medical Care by 98.8% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 1,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Fresenius Medical Care by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 28,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,125 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.25% of the company’s stock.

About Fresenius Medical Care

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.