Encompass Health’s (EHC) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Truist Financial

Truist Financial restated their buy rating on shares of Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $116.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $108.00.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Encompass Health to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Encompass Health from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Encompass Health from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $107.11.

Encompass Health Stock Down 0.6 %

EHC stock opened at $98.88 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $94.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.82. The company has a market capitalization of $9.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.88. Encompass Health has a 52 week low of $62.58 and a 52 week high of $102.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 8.10%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Encompass Health will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.43%.

Encompass Health announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Encompass Health news, CFO Douglas E. Coltharp sold 12,260 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total transaction of $1,058,528.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 136,227 shares in the company, valued at $11,761,839.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Encompass Health

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,166,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $839,520,000 after buying an additional 169,113 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in Encompass Health by 16.0% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,283,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,586,000 after purchasing an additional 314,488 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Encompass Health by 1.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,819,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,083,000 after purchasing an additional 22,311 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Encompass Health by 14.2% during the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,598,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,966,000 after purchasing an additional 198,701 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 8 Knots Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC now owns 1,288,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,430,000 after purchasing an additional 158,356 shares during the period. 97.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.