Short Interest in Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMED) Drops By 20.2%

Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMED - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,490,000 shares, a decrease of 20.2% from the March 15th total of 3,120,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 291,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.5 days. Currently, 7.8% of the company's shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMED. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Amedisys in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Amedisys from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Raymond James restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Amedisys in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amedisys currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $97.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Amedisys by 6.5% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 11,101 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $1,913,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Amedisys by 22.1% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,425 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 2,193 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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. 94.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amedisys Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of AMED stock traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $91.90. 157,142 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 262,087. Amedisys has a 52 week low of $73.10 and a 52 week high of $96.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $93.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.49. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of -296.44, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.86.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.10). Amedisys had a positive return on equity of 12.76% and a negative net margin of 0.44%. The company had revenue of $570.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $566.85 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. Amedisys's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Amedisys will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.