Select Medical Holdings Co. (NYSE:SEM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Select Medical Holdings Co. (NYSE:SEM) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $26.00.

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Benchmark raised Select Medical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Mizuho started coverage on Select Medical in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Select Medical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Select Medical from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Select Medical

In related news, Director Parvinderjit S. Khanuja purchased 21,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.02 per share, with a total value of $315,420.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 65,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $977,636.78. The trade was a 47.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 714,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,861,288. The trade was a 23.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Select Medical

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 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 acquiring an additional 1,473 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Select Medical by 61.6% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,703 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,030 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in shares of Select Medical in the first quarter worth $60,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Select Medical by 33.5% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,955 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 1,244 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Select Medical by 168.2% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,301 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 3,952 shares during the period. 89.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Select Medical Stock Down 0.3%

SEM stock opened at $15.26 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.61. Select Medical has a fifty-two week low of $14.03 and a fifty-two week high of $40.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.40.

Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The health services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. Select Medical had a return on equity of 14.04% and a net margin of 3.23%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Select Medical will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Select Medical declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the health services provider to purchase up to 42.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Select Medical Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Select Medical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.66%.

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.