Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) Sets New 1-Year High After Insider Buying Activity

Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The company traded as high as $85.97 and last traded at $85.73, with a volume of 105271 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $84.51.

Specifically, CEO Mark J. Tarr sold 44,976 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.27, for a total transaction of $3,745,151.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 554,098 shares in the company, valued at $46,139,740.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Mark J. Tarr sold 44,976 shares of Encompass Health stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.27, for a total value of $3,745,151.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 554,098 shares in the company, valued at $46,139,740.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Patrick Darby sold 14,543 shares of Encompass Health stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.94, for a total transaction of $1,220,739.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 84,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,115,845.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on EHC shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $101.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (up from $85.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.29.

Encompass Health Stock Up 1.6 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $8.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.36, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.92.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.19. Encompass Health had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.1 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Encompass Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Encompass Health by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,997,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $667,002,000 after acquiring an additional 450,081 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Encompass Health by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,215,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,156,000 after acquiring an additional 449,230 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Encompass Health by 6.4% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,676,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,226,000 after buying an additional 342,512 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 22.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,974,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,914,000 after purchasing an additional 724,544 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 239.6% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,969,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,384,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,275 shares during the period. 97.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.