Retirement Systems of Alabama Boosts Stock Position in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 278,834 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Encompass Health were worth $18,604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the fourth quarter valued at $70,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the third quarter valued at $109,000. 97.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Encompass Health Price Performance

Encompass Health stock opened at $83.41 on Wednesday. Encompass Health Co. has a 52 week low of $57.55 and a 52 week high of $85.84. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $8.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Encompass Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. Encompass Health’s payout ratio is currently 16.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on EHC. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Encompass Health from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Encompass Health from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective (up from $85.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Encompass Health has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $88.13.

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.