Brokerages Set Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Price Target at $120.86

Shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $120.86.

EHC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Encompass Health from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Encompass Health from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com cut Encompass Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $117.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th.

Encompass Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EHC opened at $116.45 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $103.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.93. Encompass Health has a fifty-two week low of $82.74 and a fifty-two week high of $118.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.91.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.18. Encompass Health had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Encompass Health will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Encompass Health news, EVP John Patrick Darby sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.79, for a total value of $1,147,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 79,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,149,910.90. This trade represents a 11.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Andrew L. Price sold 5,042 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total transaction of $495,578.18. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 69,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,798,129.56. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,321 shares of company stock valued at $2,142,452 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Encompass Health

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Encompass Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $152,953,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Encompass Health during the 4th quarter worth $100,637,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Encompass Health during the fourth quarter worth about $77,944,000. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in Encompass Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $52,094,000. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 15,266.7% in the fourth quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 461,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,573,000 after acquiring an additional 458,000 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.