Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMED) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AMED. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Amedisys in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Amedisys in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Amedisys from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Amedisys presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amedisys

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AMED. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Amedisys by 181.1% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 63,953 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $6,079,000 after purchasing an additional 41,206 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Amedisys by 184.9% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 110,479 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $10,327,000 after purchasing an additional 71,705 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in Amedisys in the third quarter valued at about $26,671,000. Clear Street Markets LLC bought a new stake in Amedisys in the third quarter valued at about $1,252,000. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Amedisys by 336.5% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 42,301 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,951,000 after acquiring an additional 32,610 shares in the last quarter. 94.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amedisys Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMED traded down $0.55 on Monday, reaching $91.35. 202,238 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 282,381. 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 has a 1-year low of $73.10 and a 1-year high of $96.44. The firm has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -294.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $93.00 and a 200-day moving average of $93.48.

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

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.