StockNews.com Upgrades Amedisys (NASDAQ:AMED) to Buy

Amedisys (NASDAQ:AMED) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also commented on AMED. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Amedisys in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Amedisys from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $101.00 target price on shares of Amedisys in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.50.

Amedisys Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMED opened at $92.08 on Friday. Amedisys has a fifty-two week low of $73.10 and a fifty-two week high of $96.44. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $92.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a PE ratio of -143.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84.

Amedisys (NASDAQ:AMED) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $571.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $565.38 million. Amedisys had a positive return on equity of 12.85% and a negative net margin of 0.91%. Amedisys’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Amedisys will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Amedisys by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 3,896 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in Amedisys by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 4,076 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Amedisys by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,893 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 663 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV raised its stake in Amedisys by 257.4% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 189,800 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $17,727,000 after acquiring an additional 136,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olympiad Research LP raised its stake in Amedisys by 94.9% during the 3rd quarter. Olympiad Research LP now owns 15,968 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,491,000 after acquiring an additional 7,777 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.36% of the company’s stock.

Amedisys Company Profile

Amedisys, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides healthcare services in the United States. It operates through three segments: Home Health, Hospice, and High Acuity Care. The Home Health segment offers a range of services in the homes of individuals for the recovery of patients from surgery, chronic disability, or terminal illness, as well as prevents avoidable hospital readmissions through its skilled nurses; nursing services, rehabilitation therapists specialized in physical, speech, and occupational therapy; and social workers and aides for assisting its patients.