Insider Buying: Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Director Purchases $167,460.00 in Stock

Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Director Greg D. Carmichael bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was bought 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 directly owns 17,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,427,596.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Encompass Health Price Performance

EHC opened at $86.37 on Friday. Encompass Health Co. has a twelve month low of $57.55 and a twelve month high of $86.60. The firm has a market cap of $8.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.27, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.05.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Encompass Health’s payout ratio is 16.22%.

Institutional Trading of Encompass Health

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Encompass Health by 5.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 164,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,077,000 after acquiring an additional 8,952 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Encompass Health by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio raised its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 153,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,292,000 after purchasing an additional 11,975 shares in the last quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Encompass Health during the third quarter worth about $571,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in Encompass Health in the third quarter valued at about $298,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on EHC shares. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price target (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Friday, April 26th. Barclays upped their price target on Encompass Health from $101.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Encompass Health from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Encompass Health has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $90.29.

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.