Wall Street Zen Begins Coverage on Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS)

Wall Street Zen started coverage on shares of Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS - Free Report) in a research note published on Tuesday. The firm issued a strong-buy rating on the stock.

FMS has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Fresenius Medical Care in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Fresenius Medical Care from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.80.

Fresenius Medical Care Stock Performance

FMS stock traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.97. The stock had a trading volume of 500,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 327,295. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.85. Fresenius Medical Care has a 52 week low of $17.93 and a 52 week high of $30.46. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.01. Fresenius Medical Care had a return on equity of 6.04% and a net margin of 3.43%. The company had revenue of $5.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.71 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Fresenius Medical Care will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Fresenius Medical Care Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.7871 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is an increase from Fresenius Medical Care's previous annual dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Fresenius Medical Care's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fresenius Medical Care

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FMS. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $502,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Fresenius Medical Care in the fourth quarter valued at $405,000. Callan Capital LLC bought a new position in Fresenius Medical Care in the fourth quarter valued at $297,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care during the fourth quarter valued at about $983,000. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care during the fourth quarter worth about $4,215,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.37% of the company's stock.

Fresenius Medical Care Company Profile

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.