Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the eleven analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $107.67.

EHC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $116.00 price target (up previously from $108.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays increased their price target on Encompass Health from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Encompass Health from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th.

Encompass Health Price Performance

Shares of Encompass Health stock opened at $100.65 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Encompass Health has a 12 month low of $73.68 and a 12 month high of $104.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $96.08 and a 200 day moving average of $96.15. The firm has a market cap of $10.14 billion, a PE ratio of 22.57, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.90.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.12. Encompass Health had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 17.56%. On average, research analysts expect that Encompass Health will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Encompass Health’s payout ratio is presently 15.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Andrew L. Price sold 5,042 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total transaction of $495,578.18. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 69,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,798,129.56. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Encompass Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Encompass Health by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,404,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $960,817,000 after purchasing an additional 138,196 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Encompass Health by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,536,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $511,273,000 after buying an additional 176,135 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Encompass Health by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,025,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,410,000 after purchasing an additional 21,329 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,076,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,799,000 after purchasing an additional 117,617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Encompass Health by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,973,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $182,285,000 after purchasing an additional 15,831 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

Encompass Health Company Profile

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.