Wall Street Zen Downgrades Amedisys (NASDAQ:AMED) to Buy

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Amedisys (NASDAQ:AMED - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on AMED. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Amedisys in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Amedisys in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $100.75.

Amedisys Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMED traded down $0.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $93.43. The company had a trading volume of 128,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 417,944. Amedisys has a 52 week low of $82.15 and a 52 week high of $98.95. The business's 50-day moving average is $93.36 and its 200 day moving average is $91.53. The company has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.08, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Amedisys (NASDAQ:AMED - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The health services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.12. Amedisys had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 3.57%. The company had revenue of $594.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $597.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. Amedisys's revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Amedisys will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amedisys

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Amedisys in the fourth quarter worth approximately $83,061,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Amedisys in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $72,970,000. Pentwater Capital Management LP lifted its position in Amedisys by 178.3% in the 4th quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP now owns 1,180,000 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $107,132,000 after buying an additional 756,000 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Amedisys by 11,621.9% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 558,197 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $50,679,000 after buying an additional 553,435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Amedisys by 838,295.7% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 192,831 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $17,931,000 after acquiring an additional 192,808 shares in the last quarter. 94.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Amedisys

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.