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

Fresenius Medical Care AG (NYSE:FMS) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $24.00.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FMS. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Fresenius Medical Care in a research note on Friday, April 26th. They set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Fresenius Medical Care from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th.

Fresenius Medical Care Trading Down 3.1 %

FMS opened at $20.99 on Friday. Fresenius Medical Care has a 1-year low of $16.37 and a 1-year high of $27.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $19.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.31 billion, a PE ratio of 22.81, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) last posted 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. Fresenius Medical Care had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 4.99%. The firm had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.32 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fresenius Medical Care will post 1.49 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.437 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.35%. Fresenius Medical Care’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fresenius Medical Care

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FMS. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in Fresenius Medical Care by 98.8% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 1,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Fresenius Medical Care by 349.3% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,799 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Fresenius Medical Care in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Fresenius Medical Care by 169.9% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 2,630 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 8.25% of the company’s stock.

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.