Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Buy" from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $127.00.

Several brokerages have weighed in on EHC. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $135.00 target price (up from $116.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Encompass Health from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mark J. Tarr sold 118,384 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.53, for a total transaction of $14,387,207.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 527,070 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,054,817.10. This trade represents a 18.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Patrick Darby sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 79,710 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,149,910.90. This trade represents a 11.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 132,663 shares of company stock valued at $16,034,082. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EHC. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Encompass Health in the fourth quarter valued at $152,953,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Encompass Health in the fourth quarter valued at $100,637,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Encompass Health in the fourth quarter valued at $77,944,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Encompass Health in the first quarter valued at $50,665,000. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Encompass Health by 15,266.7% in the fourth quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 461,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,573,000 after buying an additional 458,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.25% of the company's stock.

Encompass Health Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:EHC opened at $120.17 on Tuesday. Encompass Health has a 12-month low of $82.74 and a 12-month high of $123.13. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $116.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.12. The company has a market capitalization of $12.11 billion, a PE ratio of 24.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.63% and a net margin of 8.97%. The business's revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Encompass Health will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued 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 0.57%. Encompass Health's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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