Analyzing Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS) and HealthEquity (NASDAQ:HQY)

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS) and HealthEquity (NASDAQ:HQY) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends and valuation.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA and HealthEquity”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA	$22.20 billion	0.52	$1.11 billion	$1.93	11.17
HealthEquity	$1.31 billion	6.16	$215.20 million	$2.77	35.34

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA has higher revenue and earnings than HealthEquity. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than HealthEquity, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA has a beta of 0.74, meaning that its stock price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, HealthEquity has a beta of 0.24, meaning that its stock price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

8.4% of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.5% of HealthEquity shares are held by institutional investors. 1.6% of HealthEquity shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA and HealthEquity, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA	4	7	0	0	1.64
HealthEquity	1	0	11	1	2.92

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA currently has a consensus price target of $23.42, suggesting a potential upside of 8.67%. HealthEquity has a consensus price target of $113.53, suggesting a potential upside of 15.99%. Given HealthEquity’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe HealthEquity is more favorable than Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA.

Profitability

This table compares Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA and HealthEquity’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA	4.83%	9.28%	4.16%
HealthEquity	17.36%	15.33%	9.51%

Summary

HealthEquity beats Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA

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. It also develops, manufactures, and distributes various health care products, including polysulfone dialyzers, hemodialysis machines, peritoneal dialysis cyclers, peritoneal dialysis solutions, hemodialysis concentrates, solutions and granulates, bloodlines, renal pharmaceuticals, systems for water treatment, and acute cardiopulmonary and apheresis products. In addition, the company develops, acquires, and in-licenses renal pharmaceuticals; offers renal medications and supplies to patients at homes or to dialysis clinics; and provides vascular, cardiovascular, endovascular specialty, vascular care ambulatory surgery center, and physician nephrology and cardiology services. The company sells its products to dialysis clinics, hospitals, and specialized treatment clinics directly, as well as through local sales forces, independent distributors, dealers, and sales agents. Fresenius Medical Care AG was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Bad Homburg, Germany.

About HealthEquity

HealthEquity, Inc. provides technology-enabled services platforms to consumers and employers in the United States. The company offers cloud-based platforms for individuals to make health saving and spending decisions, pay healthcare bills, receive personalized benefit information, earn wellness incentives, grow their savings, and make investment choices; and health savings accounts. It also provides investment platform; and online-only automated investment advisory services through Advisor, a Web-based tool. In addition, the company offers flexible spending accounts; health reimbursement arrangements; and Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act continuation services, as well as administers pre-tax commuter benefit programs. It serves clients through a direct sales force; benefits brokers and advisors; and a network of health plans, benefits administrators, benefits brokers and consultants, and retirement plan record-keepers. HealthEquity, Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is based in Draper, Utah.