Truist Financial Raises Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) Price Target to $108.00

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) had its price target raised by Truist Financial from $104.00 to $108.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on EHC. Barclays lowered their price objective on Encompass Health from $113.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. KeyCorp started coverage on Encompass Health in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Encompass Health from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Leerink Partners started coverage on Encompass Health in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Encompass Health from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Encompass Health presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.67.

Encompass Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EHC opened at $97.40 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $92.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. Encompass Health has a 1-year low of $57.55 and a 1-year high of $98.74. The company has a market cap 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 (NYSE:EHC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.10. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 7.88%. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. Encompass Health’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Encompass Health will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Encompass Health Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Encompass Health

In other news, CFO Douglas E. Coltharp sold 12,260 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total transaction of $1,058,528.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 136,227 shares in the company, valued at $11,761,839.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EHC. Magnetar Financial LLC raised its position in Encompass Health by 1,176.6% in the second quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 744,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,899,000 after acquiring an additional 814,018 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 2,302.7% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 603,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,780,000 after purchasing an additional 578,438 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Encompass Health by 614.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 540,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,637,000 after buying an additional 464,897 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Encompass Health by 379.7% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 578,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,587,000 after buying an additional 457,796 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Encompass Health by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,997,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $667,002,000 after buying an additional 450,081 shares in the last quarter. 97.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.