New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 2,500 Shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 51,263 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Encompass Health were worth $4,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Encompass Health by 87.8% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Encompass Health during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Encompass Health in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in Encompass Health by 43.8% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Encompass Health during the third quarter valued at about $68,000. 97.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Encompass Health

In other news, CAO Andrew L. Price sold 5,042 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total transaction of $495,578.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 69,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,798,129.56. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EHC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Encompass Health from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Friday, February 7th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Encompass Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Encompass Health presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $107.67.

Encompass Health Stock Performance

EHC opened at $100.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.90. Encompass Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $73.68 and a fifty-two week high of $104.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $96.31 and a 200 day moving average of $96.20.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.12. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 8.48%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.25%.

Encompass Health 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.