StockNews.com Upgrades Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) to Strong-Buy

Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

Separately, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Fresenius Medical Care from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fresenius Medical Care presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.25.

Fresenius Medical Care Stock Performance

Shares of FMS opened at $18.97 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Fresenius Medical Care has a one year low of $16.37 and a one year high of $27.72. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.00.

Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.11. Fresenius Medical Care had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 4.99%. The business had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.32 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Fresenius Medical Care will post 1.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fresenius Medical Care

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 77.1% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,570,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,667,000 after acquiring an additional 683,851 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 3.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,041,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,433,000 after acquiring an additional 36,820 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 69.5% during the first quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 750,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,958,000 after acquiring an additional 307,801 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Fresenius Medical Care by 58.8% during the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 736,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,633,000 after acquiring an additional 272,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care during the second quarter valued at approximately $16,738,000. Institutional investors own 8.25% of the company’s stock.

About Fresenius Medical Care

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.