Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) Hits New 52-Week Low After Earnings Miss

Select Medical Holdings Co. (NYSE:SEM) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $14.34 and last traded at $14.76, with a volume of 556633 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $18.24.

The health services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Select Medical had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 14.04%. Select Medical’s revenue was down 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS.

Select Medical Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Select Medical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.15%.

Select Medical declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the health services provider to buy up to 42.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on SEM. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Select Medical from $40.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Select Medical in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Select Medical from $47.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised Select Medical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Benchmark raised Select Medical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Select Medical has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Select Medical

In other news, CEO David S. Chernow sold 225,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $4,050,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 714,516 shares in the company, valued at $12,861,288. This trade represents a 23.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 11.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Select Medical by 179.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,296 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 1,473 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Select Medical during the 3rd quarter valued at $81,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Select Medical by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,955 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 1,244 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Select Medical by 217.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,501 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 4,453 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Select Medical by 47.8% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,974 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,255 shares in the last quarter. 89.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Select Medical Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a PE ratio of 8.62, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.83.

Select Medical Company Profile

Select Medical Holdings Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates critical illness recovery hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient rehabilitation clinics, and occupational health centers in the United States. It operates in four segments: Critical Illness Recovery Hospital, Rehabilitation Hospital, Outpatient Rehabilitation, and Concentra.