SPC Financial Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

SPC Financial Inc. decreased its position in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 4.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,923 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,935 shares during the period. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Encompass Health were worth $4,341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Encompass Health by 387.7% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Encompass Health in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Encompass Health by 58.9% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Encompass Health by 31.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Encompass Health during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EHC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Encompass Health from $113.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on Encompass Health in a report on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $104.67.

Encompass Health Trading Up 1.1 %

EHC opened at $97.40 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.88. Encompass Health Co. has a 1-year low of $57.55 and a 1-year high of $98.74.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 7.88%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is a boost from Encompass Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.38%.

Encompass Health declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Douglas E. Coltharp sold 12,260 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total value of $1,058,528.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 136,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,761,839.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.