Bank of America Corp DE Has $39.66 Million Stake in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

Bank of America Corp DE trimmed its holdings in shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 18.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 429,463 shares of the company’s stock after selling 97,509 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE’s holdings in Encompass Health were worth $39,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Encompass Health during the fourth quarter valued at about $152,953,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $100,637,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $77,944,000. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $52,094,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 136.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 689,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,648,000 after buying an additional 398,154 shares during the period. 97.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on EHC. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (up previously from $116.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Monday, April 28th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Encompass Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 11th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $117.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $120.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John Patrick Darby sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 79,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,149,910.90. The trade was a 11.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Elissa Joy Charbonneau sold 4,279 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.61, for a total transaction of $498,974.19. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,958 shares in the company, valued at $1,394,422.38. This trade represents a 26.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Encompass Health Stock Performance

Shares of Encompass Health stock opened at $119.76 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $12.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.60. Encompass Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $82.74 and a fifty-two week high of $119.95.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. Encompass Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.8 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.05%.

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.