Brokerages Set Fresenius Medical Care AG (NYSE:FMS) PT at $24.00

Fresenius Medical Care AG (NYSE:FMS) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seven brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $24.00.

FMS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Fresenius Medical Care in a research report on Saturday. They issued a “strong-buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley cut Fresenius Medical Care from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Fresenius Medical Care by 14,252.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position 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 stake in Fresenius Medical Care during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,247,000. Guardian Capital Advisors LP grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 17,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Fresenius Medical Care in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,340,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.25% of the company’s stock.

Fresenius Medical Care Stock Performance

Shares of Fresenius Medical Care stock opened at $21.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $12.57 billion, a PE ratio of 23.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.95. Fresenius Medical Care has a 12 month low of $16.37 and a 12 month high of $27.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.63.

Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.32 billion. Fresenius Medical Care had a return on equity of 4.99% and a net margin of 2.56%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fresenius Medical Care will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fresenius Medical Care Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.437 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.35%. Fresenius Medical Care’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.65%.

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.