Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

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

Separately, Morgan Stanley lowered Fresenius Medical Care from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $32.25.

Fresenius Medical Care Stock Performance

Shares of FMS opened at $20.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $19.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.46. Fresenius Medical Care has a 52 week low of $16.37 and a 52 week high of $27.72.

Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) last released its earnings results 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 company 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Fresenius Medical Care will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fresenius Medical Care Cuts Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fresenius Medical Care

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. purchased a new position in Fresenius Medical Care in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,293,000. Veracity Capital LLC lifted its stake in Fresenius Medical Care by 172.2% in the first quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 53,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 33,543 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care during the first quarter worth $584,000. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 8.0% during the first quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC now owns 38,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $748,000 after acquiring an additional 2,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 21.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares in 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.