Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS) Short Interest Up 87.1% in May

Key Points

• Short interest surged 87.1% in May for Fresenius Medical Care, rising to 2.21 million shares, or about 0.4% of the float. The days-to-cover ratio is 2.5 days.
• The stock was trading around $23.03, near the middle of its 52-week range of $20.02 to $28.96, and the company’s market value is about $12.44 billion. It reported quarterly EPS of $1.05 on revenue of $5.34 billion.
• Analysts have turned more cautious, with several recent downgrades and a current consensus of "Strong Sell". The average price target is $28.00, while the company also raised its annual dividend to $0.8716 per share from $0.79.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 2,211,305 shares, a growth of 87.1% from the May 14th total of 1,182,112 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 876,548 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 0.4% of the company's shares are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 8,860 shares of the company's stock worth $212,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Advisors Preferred LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 10,226 shares of the company's stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 7,370 shares of the company's stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 18,766 shares of the company's stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 121.6% during the 4th quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 1,613 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 885 shares during the last quarter. 8.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE FMS opened at $23.03 on Monday. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA has a one year low of $20.02 and a one year high of $28.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.44 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12, a PEG ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $22.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.85.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA had a return on equity of 8.90% and a net margin of 4.88%.The firm had revenue of $5.34 billion during the quarter. As a group, analysts predict that Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA will post 2.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.8716 per share. This represents a yield of 402.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA's previous annual dividend of $0.79. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA's dividend payout ratio is 32.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research lowered Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Strong Sell" and a consensus price target of $28.00.

About Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co KGaA is the world's largest integrated provider of products and services for individuals with renal diseases. The company's primary business activities encompass the operation of dialysis clinics and the manufacture and distribution of dialysis equipment, dialysis machines, dialyzers, consumables and related therapies. Through its global network of clinics, Fresenius Medical Care delivers comprehensive kidney care, including hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis treatments, patient education and support services.

In its products segment, the company designs and produces dialysis machines, water treatment systems and disposables such as high‐flux dialyzers and bloodlines.

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