Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 5,501 Shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 62.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,295 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,501 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Encompass Health were worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EHC. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Encompass Health by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in Encompass Health by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $845,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in Encompass Health by 53.0% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in Encompass Health by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 4,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Encompass Health by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EHC shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $116.00 price objective (up previously from $108.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Encompass Health from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Encompass Health from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Encompass Health from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.11.

Encompass Health Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:EHC opened at $98.85 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $9.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.88, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Encompass Health Co. has a 1 year low of $63.59 and a 1 year high of $104.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $96.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.35.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 8.10%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Encompass Health declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Encompass Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Encompass Health’s payout ratio is currently 16.43%.

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.