Short Interest in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Drops By 35.6%

Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,210,000 shares, a decline of 35.6% from the April 30th total of 1,880,000 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 859,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Insider Transactions at Encompass Health

In other news, EVP John Patrick Darby sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.79, for a total transaction of $1,147,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 79,710 shares in the company, valued at $9,149,910.90. The trade was a 11.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark J. Tarr sold 118,384 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.53, for a total value of $14,387,207.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 527,070 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,054,817.10. This trade represents a 18.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 132,663 shares of company stock worth $16,034,082 over the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Encompass Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EHC. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Colonial Trust Co SC acquired a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 455 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 749.0% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 416 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. 97.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on EHC shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Encompass Health from $117.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $135.00 target price (up from $116.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Encompass Health from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Encompass Health from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Encompass Health has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $122.71.

Encompass Health Price Performance

Encompass Health stock traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $120.44. 180,500 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 700,138. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The business has a fifty day moving average of $109.93 and a 200 day moving average of $102.01. Encompass Health has a 1-year low of $82.74 and a 1-year high of $122.09. The company has a market capitalization of $12.14 billion, a PE ratio of 26.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.91.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 8.48%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Encompass Health will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Encompass Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Encompass Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.05%.

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.