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

Fresenius Medical Care AG (NYSE:FMS) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $24.00.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FMS. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Fresenius Medical Care from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Fresenius Medical Care in a report on Saturday. They set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock.

Fresenius Medical Care Stock Performance

NYSE FMS opened at $21.42 on Friday. 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 market cap of $12.57 billion, a PE ratio of 23.28, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.95. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $19.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.63.

Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.32 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Fresenius Medical Care will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fresenius Medical Care Cuts Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fresenius Medical Care

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Fresenius Medical Care during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Fresenius Medical Care in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 2,630 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 8.25% of the company’s stock.

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.