Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

Separately, Morgan Stanley downgraded Fresenius Medical Care from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fresenius Medical Care has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $32.25.

Fresenius Medical Care Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FMS opened at $19.54 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $19.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.47. 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 has a market cap of $11.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.24, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.00. Fresenius Medical Care has a 1 year low of $16.37 and a 1 year high of $27.72.

Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.11. The firm 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%. Research analysts forecast that Fresenius Medical Care will post 1.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fresenius Medical Care Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.437 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.35%. Fresenius Medical Care’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.74%.

Institutional Trading of Fresenius Medical Care

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 259.5% in the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 92,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,995,000 after purchasing an additional 66,864 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 14,252.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 488,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,173,000 after purchasing an additional 484,998 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care in the third quarter valued at $676,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care in the third quarter valued at $542,000. 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.