StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS)

Equities researchers at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday. The firm set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock.

Separately, Morgan Stanley downgraded Fresenius Medical Care from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.25.

Fresenius Medical Care Trading Down 3.1 %

Fresenius Medical Care stock opened at $20.99 on Friday. Fresenius Medical Care has a 52 week low of $16.37 and a 52 week 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 has a market capitalization of $12.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $19.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.55.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.11. Fresenius Medical Care had a return on equity of 4.99% and a net margin of 2.56%. The company had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.32 billion. Research analysts forecast that Fresenius Medical Care will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fresenius Medical Care

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Fresenius Medical Care by 14,252.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 488,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,173,000 after buying an additional 484,998 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 362.2% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 259,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,580,000 after purchasing an additional 202,991 shares during the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care during the 4th quarter valued at $3,247,000. Guardian Capital Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Guardian Capital Advisors LP now owns 123,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,556,000 after purchasing an additional 17,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Fresenius Medical Care in the fourth quarter worth $2,340,000. 8.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.