Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,404,081 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 138,196 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Encompass Health worth $960,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 2,870.0% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 7,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 7,089 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Encompass Health by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,673,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,781,000 after buying an additional 20,547 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 644,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,544,000 after acquiring an additional 4,345 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its position in shares of Encompass Health by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 3,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Encompass Health during the fourth quarter valued at $374,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on EHC shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com raised Encompass Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Encompass Health from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Encompass Health has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.67.

Encompass Health Price Performance

Shares of Encompass Health stock opened at $100.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $98.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.38. Encompass Health Co. has a twelve month low of $78.53 and a twelve month high of $104.55.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.12. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 8.48%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Encompass Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.25%.

Insider Activity at Encompass Health

In other Encompass Health news, CAO Andrew L. Price sold 5,042 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total value of $495,578.18. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,798,129.56. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

About Encompass Health

Encompass Health Corporation provides post-acute healthcare services in the United States and Puerto Rico. It owns and operates inpatient rehabilitation hospitals that provide medical, nursing, therapy, and ancillary services. The company provides specialized rehabilitative treatment on an inpatient basis to patients who have experienced physical or cognitive disabilities or injuries due to medical conditions, such as strokes, hip fractures, and various debilitating neurological conditions.