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

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

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

FMS opened at $23.03 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.85. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA has a twelve month low of $20.02 and a twelve month high of $28.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market cap of $12.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.80.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share 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. Research analysts forecast that Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA will post 2.24 EPS for the current year.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a $0.8716 dividend. This is an increase from Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA’s previous annual dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a yield of 402.0%. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.11%.

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

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 50.3% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 1,383 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 479.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 216,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,893,000 after purchasing an additional 179,418 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 341,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,701,000 after purchasing an additional 46,428 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 80.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 120,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,723,000 after buying an additional 53,922 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 76.7% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 15,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 6,909 shares during the period. 8.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FMS shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research lowered Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a “strong sell” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus price target of $28.00.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA Company Profile

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.