Baird Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Select Medical Holdings Co. (NYSE:SEM)

Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Select Medical Holdings Co. (NYSE:SEM - Free Report) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 300,643 shares of the health services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 31,207 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Select Medical worth $5,667,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Select Medical by 179.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,296 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Select Medical in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Select Medical by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,955 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 1,244 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Select Medical by 963.0% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 9,078 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 8,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBK Investments L P acquired a new stake in Select Medical in the fourth quarter valued at $188,000. 89.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SEM shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Select Medical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Select Medical from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Benchmark upgraded Select Medical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $23.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on Select Medical in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Parvinderjit S. Khanuja bought 21,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.02 per share, for a total transaction of $315,420.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 65,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $977,636.78. This represents a 47.63 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David S. Chernow sold 225,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $4,050,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 714,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,861,288. This trade represents a 23.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Select Medical Price Performance

NYSE SEM opened at $14.91 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The business's fifty day moving average is $16.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.17. Select Medical Holdings Co. has a 1 year low of $14.03 and a 1 year high of $40.98.

Select Medical (NYSE:SEM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The health services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.01). Select Medical had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 14.04%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Select Medical Holdings Co. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Select Medical Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Select Medical's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.66%.

Select Medical declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the health services provider to repurchase up to 42.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Select Medical

Select Medical Holdings Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates critical illness recovery hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient rehabilitation clinics, and occupational health centers in the United States. It operates in four segments: Critical Illness Recovery Hospital, Rehabilitation Hospital, Outpatient Rehabilitation, and Concentra.

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