Natixis Reduces Holdings in Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMED)

Natixis lowered its position in shares of Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMED) by 13.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 106,218 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 15,984 shares during the period. Natixis’ holdings in Amedisys were worth $9,789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Amedisys by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,241,160 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $302,724,000 after purchasing an additional 12,137 shares during the period. Alpine Associates Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Amedisys by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. now owns 1,271,097 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $120,830,000 after purchasing an additional 237,600 shares during the period. Park West Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Amedisys by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC now owns 812,069 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $77,195,000 after purchasing an additional 60,350 shares during the period. Water Island Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Amedisys by 185.0% during the fourth quarter. Water Island Capital LLC now owns 710,697 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $67,559,000 after purchasing an additional 461,368 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Amedisys during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,032,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.36% of the company’s stock.

Amedisys Stock Performance

Amedisys stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $97.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 404,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 315,304. Amedisys, Inc. has a twelve month low of $89.55 and a twelve month high of $98.46. The firm has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -152.73, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $94.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.79.

Amedisys (NASDAQ:AMED) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.01. Amedisys had a negative net margin of 0.91% and a positive return on equity of 12.85%. The company had revenue of $571.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $565.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Amedisys, Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AMED. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $101.00 price target on shares of Amedisys in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of Amedisys from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Finally, William Blair downgraded shares of Amedisys from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Amedisys presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.67.

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.