Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC) has received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $148.20.

Several research firms recently issued reports on EHC. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $140.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Encompass Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Encompass Health from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Encompass Health from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th.

Encompass Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EHC opened at $121.84 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $12.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.70. Encompass Health has a 52 week low of $92.77 and a 52 week high of $127.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 10.01%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. Encompass Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.250 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Encompass Health will post 6.08 EPS for the current year.

Encompass Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is an increase from Encompass Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. Encompass Health’s payout ratio is presently 12.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Encompass Health

In other news, EVP John Darby sold 4,858 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.09, for a total value of $588,255.22. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 75,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,086,714.69. This trade represents a 6.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Tarr sold 173,148 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.47, for a total value of $21,724,879.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 267,814 shares in the company, valued at $33,602,622.58. This trade represents a 39.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 186,912 shares of company stock valued at $23,434,845 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Encompass Health

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Encompass Health by 3.9% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Encompass Health during the 2nd quarter valued at $112,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Encompass Health by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC purchased a new stake in Encompass Health during the 2nd quarter worth $572,000. Finally, Nykredit A S acquired a new position in Encompass Health in the 2nd quarter worth $390,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

Encompass Health Company Profile

Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC) is a provider of post-acute healthcare services in the United States. The company operates inpatient rehabilitation hospitals that care for patients recovering from illness, injury, surgery or other medical conditions requiring intensive rehabilitation.

Its rehabilitation programs commonly serve patients recovering from strokes, brain and spinal cord injuries, neurological disorders, cardiac and pulmonary conditions, hip fractures, amputations and other orthopedic conditions.