Short Interest in Select Medical Holdings Co. (NYSE:SEM) Grows By 17.3%

Select Medical Holdings Co. (NYSE:SEM) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,470,000 shares, an increase of 17.3% from the February 13th total of 3,810,000 shares. Currently, 4.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,040,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Select Medical Price Performance

Select Medical stock traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $17.02. 904,843 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 744,775. The company has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.56. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.95. Select Medical has a 1 year low of $16.20 and a 1 year 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.

Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The health services provider reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Select Medical had a return on equity of 14.04% and a net margin of 3.23%. On average, analysts anticipate that Select Medical will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Select Medical Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Select Medical’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.15%.

Institutional Trading of Select Medical

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SEM. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Select Medical in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,927,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Select Medical by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 416,299 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $14,516,000 after buying an additional 36,905 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Select Medical in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,592,000. Argent Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Select Medical by 79.8% in the 4th quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 55,144 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,039,000 after buying an additional 24,471 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Select Medical by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,442,321 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $85,180,000 after buying an additional 46,880 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SEM shares. Benchmark raised Select Medical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group cut their price target on Select Medical from $40.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Select Medical from $47.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Select Medical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Select Medical currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.25.

About Select Medical

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.