Short Interest in Fresenius Medical Care AG (NYSE:FMS) Grows By 274.6%

Fresenius Medical Care AG (NYSE:FMS) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,610,000 shares, a growth of 274.6% from the April 30th total of 696,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 445,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.9 days. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FMS. Wall Street Zen began coverage on Fresenius Medical Care in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Truist Financial increased their target price on Fresenius Medical Care from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Fresenius Medical Care in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fresenius Medical Care has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.80.

Institutional Trading of Fresenius Medical Care

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 192.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 424.5% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 234.1% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 2,208 shares during the last quarter. 8.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fresenius Medical Care Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:FMS opened at $28.35 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $25.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Fresenius Medical Care has a 12 month low of $17.93 and a 12 month high of $30.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.64 billion, a PE ratio of 23.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.85.

Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.01. Fresenius Medical Care had a return on equity of 6.04% and a net margin of 3.43%. The company had revenue of $5.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Research analysts predict that Fresenius Medical Care will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fresenius Medical Care Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.7871 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This is a positive change from Fresenius Medical Care’s previous annual dividend of $0.44. This represents a yield of 1.9%. Fresenius Medical Care’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.11%.

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.