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

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

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

Fresenius Medical Care Price Performance

NYSE FMS traded down $0.69 on Friday, reaching $20.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 494,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 384,827. Fresenius Medical Care has a twelve month low of $16.37 and a twelve month high of $27.72. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $19.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.57. The stock has a market cap of $12.31 billion, a PE ratio of 22.79, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.95.

Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts predict that Fresenius Medical Care will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Fresenius Medical Care Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Fresenius Medical Care

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 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 buying an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 349.3% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 1,799 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 169.9% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 2,630 shares during the last quarter. 8.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.