Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys New Position in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 28,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,882,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EHC. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 66.4% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $664,000 after acquiring an additional 3,725 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Encompass Health during the first quarter valued at approximately $318,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 10.5% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 1.5% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 11,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its holdings in Encompass Health by 10.5% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 36,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,593,000 after purchasing an additional 3,477 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

Encompass Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EHC opened at $78.64 on Friday. Encompass Health Co. has a 1-year low of $57.55 and a 1-year high of $83.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $77.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.22. The company has a market capitalization of $7.88 billion, a PE ratio of 22.66, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.94.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.12. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.69% and a net margin of 7.33%. The firm had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.24 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Encompass Health Co. will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EHC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Friday, February 9th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Encompass Health from $77.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Encompass Health from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Encompass Health has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.22.

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.