Amedisys (NASDAQ:AMED) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Amedisys (NASDAQ:AMED - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the health services provider's stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on AMED. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Amedisys from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Raymond James reissued a market perform rating on shares of Amedisys in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $97.50.

Amedisys Price Performance

AMED stock traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $92.38. 273,453 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 292,032. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.54. Amedisys has a one year low of $73.10 and a one year high of $96.44. The company has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -297.99, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Amedisys (NASDAQ:AMED - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The health services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.10). Amedisys had a negative net margin of 0.44% and a positive return on equity of 12.76%. The firm had revenue of $570.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $566.85 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Amedisys will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amedisys

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Amedisys by 6.5% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 11,101 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $1,913,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Amedisys by 9.2% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 2,397 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Amedisys by 22.1% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,425 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Amedisys by 40.4% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,619 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $1,310,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Amedisys by 6.4% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 13,268 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $2,287,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.