Stephens analyst Dana Hambly called Amedisys' (AMED) repurchase of about 2.4M of its common shares from KKR (KKR) a "creative way to deploy excess capital" and create shareholder value while also returning capital to KKR and not impacting Amedisys' ability to pursue M&A. He also noted that the company is in advanced talks to increase borrowing to support M&A. Hambly raised his 2019 EPS estimate by 6% to account for the buybacks and raised his price target on Amedisys to $78 from $73, though he keeps an Equal Weight rating on the stock, citing valuation.