Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC) have earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $131.50.

EHC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp upped their target price on Encompass Health from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen cut Encompass Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 target price (up from $116.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barclays upped their target price on Encompass Health from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Encompass Health from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

Insider Transactions at Encompass Health

In related news, EVP John Patrick Darby sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.79, for a total value of $1,147,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 79,710 shares in the company, valued at $9,149,910.90. This represents a 11.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Elissa Joy Charbonneau sold 4,279 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.61, for a total value of $498,974.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 11,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,394,422.38. The trade was a 26.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 132,663 shares of company stock worth $16,034,082. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Encompass Health

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Encompass Health during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Colonial Trust Co SC acquired a new stake in Encompass Health during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Encompass Health during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Encompass Health by 749.0% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 416 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Encompass Health by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 704 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. 97.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Encompass Health Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of EHC stock opened at $110.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $11.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.82. Encompass Health has a 1 year low of $82.74 and a 1 year high of $123.13.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.63% and a net margin of 8.97%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Encompass Health will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.05%.

About Encompass Health

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.