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Amedisys price target raised to $130 from $118 at SunTrust. SunTrust analyst David MacDonald raised his price target on Amedisys to $130 and kept his Buy rating, saying its $340M cash acquisition of Compassionate Care Hospice was a "really nice deal". The analyst notes that it should bolster the company's strong hospice presence, provide a geographic expansion, boost its margins, and generate "solid" synergies at an "attractive" multiple within a "highly competitive M&A environment". MacDonald also keeps a positive view on Amedisys's unique strategic position, "robust" free cash flows, and "benign" reimbursement trends.

Amedisys acquisition looks like very good deal, says Baird. Baird analyst Matthew Gillmor said he likes the Compassionate Care Hospice acquisition by Amedisys. He said the price is reasonable and there are strong synergy opportunities. He said although the long-term accretion is robust and he has a favorable bias on the stock, he prefers to remain on the sidelines until the final home health payment rule in November is released. Gillmor maintained his Neutral rating, though he raised his price target to $120 from $105, on Amedisys shares.

Stephens says home health final rule looking like draft would weigh on providers. Stephens analyst Dana Hambly said he expects the final rule for home health reimbursement to be released by CMS in the first week of November. He is concerned that if the final rule looks similar to the draft rule, particularly regarding behavioral assumptions, it would weigh on home health stocks. For-profit, urban providers with higher percentages of therapy visits are estimated to take the largest cuts under a Patient Driven Groupings Model for reimbursement, said Hambly, who sees the impact being largest for Brookdale Senior Living (BKD) and Humana's (HUM) Kindred at Home. Others that may be impacted include Amedisys (AMED), Encompass Health (EHC), Ensign Group (ENSG) and LHC Group (LHCG).

Amedisys price target raised to $125 from $117 at Cantor Fitzgerald. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Joseph France raised his price target for Amedisys to $125 saying he likes the company's acquisition of Compassionate Care. This deal is encouraging because it suggests that lower valuations can be achieved, and they could accelerate Amedisys' earnings growth, France tells investors in a research note. He boosted his 2019 earnings estimates to reflect accretion from the deal but reiterates a Neutral rating on the shares.