Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Director Greg D. Carmichael Acquires 2,000 Shares

Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Director Greg D. Carmichael bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $83.73 per share, with a total value of $167,460.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,427,596.50. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Encompass Health Trading Up 1.7 %

Encompass Health stock opened at $85.93 on Wednesday. Encompass Health Co. has a 12-month low of $57.55 and a 12-month high of $86.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.65 billion, a PE ratio of 23.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 7.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.22%.

Institutional Trading of Encompass Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EHC. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Encompass Health by 23.4% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,000 after buying an additional 1,467 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Encompass Health by 75.4% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 34,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,847,000 after acquiring an additional 14,818 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Encompass Health during the 1st quarter worth $816,000. Tectonic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 6,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Encompass Health by 5.6% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 118,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,761,000 after purchasing an additional 6,280 shares during the period. 97.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on EHC shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Encompass Health from $101.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Friday, April 26th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Encompass Health from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.