Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) have received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $96.50.

Several research firms have commented on EHC. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price target (up from $85.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Encompass Health from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $94.00 target price on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, SVB Leerink initiated coverage on Encompass Health in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 target price for the company.

Encompass Health Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:EHC opened at $85.49 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $85.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Encompass Health has a 12-month low of $57.55 and a 12-month high of $87.94. The firm has a market cap of $8.61 billion, a PE ratio of 23.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.89.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.19. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 7.60%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Encompass Health will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 1st were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 1st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Encompass Health

In other Encompass Health news, Director Greg D. Carmichael bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $83.73 per share, for a total transaction of $167,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,427,596.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Encompass Health news, insider Elissa Joy Charbonneau sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.02, for a total transaction of $850,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,580,861.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Greg D. Carmichael bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $83.73 per share, for a total transaction of $167,460.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 17,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,427,596.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 69,519 shares of company stock worth $5,816,091. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Encompass Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EHC. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the second quarter valued at about $2,204,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Encompass Health by 85.6% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,232,000 after purchasing an additional 6,627 shares during the period. BDF Gestion acquired a new stake in Encompass Health in the second quarter valued at about $2,646,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Encompass Health by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Encompass Health by 275.7% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 35,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,071,000 after purchasing an additional 26,270 shares during the period. 97.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.