Fresenius Medical Care AG (NYSE:FMS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Fresenius Medical Care AG (NYSE:FMS) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.00.

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on Fresenius Medical Care in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. They set a “strong-buy” rating for the company.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FMS. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Fresenius Medical Care during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 98.8% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 1,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 349.3% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,799 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Fresenius Medical Care in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Fresenius Medical Care by 169.9% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 2,630 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 8.25% of the company’s stock.

Fresenius Medical Care Stock Up 2.9 %

FMS stock opened at $20.69 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $12.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.95. Fresenius Medical Care has a fifty-two week low of $16.37 and a fifty-two week high of $27.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.66 and a 200-day moving average of $19.65.

Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts predict that Fresenius Medical Care will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Fresenius Medical Care Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.437 dividend. This represents a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Fresenius Medical Care’s payout ratio is 46.74%.

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.