Royal Bank of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) Stock Price

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) had its target price hoisted by Royal Bank of Canada from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research note released on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on EHC. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Encompass Health from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded Encompass Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays raised their price target on Encompass Health from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price target (up from $116.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Monday. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.86.

Encompass Health Stock Performance

NYSE:EHC opened at $115.35 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $100.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.71. Encompass Health has a twelve month low of $82.38 and a twelve month high of $115.93. The stock has a market cap of $11.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.86, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 8.48%. Encompass Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Encompass Health will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.25%.

Insider Transactions at Encompass Health

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Encompass Health

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EHC. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Encompass Health by 87.8% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new stake in shares of Encompass Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Encompass Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Encompass Health by 38.7% during the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Encompass Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 97.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.