Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC) Receives $133.17 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Key Points

• Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC) has received an average recommendation of "Buy" from analysts, with six analysts rating it as a buy and one giving it a strong buy rating.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.17 to $0.19 per share, with the dividend payout ratio currently at 13.31%.
• Encompass Health reported $1.40 EPS for its latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and marking a 12% year-over-year revenue growth.

Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Buy" by the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $134.00.

EHC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on Encompass Health from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Stephens raised Encompass Health from an "overweight" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $135.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Encompass Health from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Encompass Health from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th.

Encompass Health Price Performance

EHC traded up $0.70 on Wednesday, reaching $120.35. The stock had a trading volume of 604,151 shares, compared to its average volume of 821,493. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $12.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.86. Encompass Health has a fifty-two week low of $87.85 and a fifty-two week high of $123.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $116.16 and a 200-day moving average of $109.30.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.20. Encompass Health had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Encompass Health will post 4.8 EPS for the current year.

Encompass Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Encompass Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Encompass Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Encompass Health news, CEO Mark J. Tarr sold 118,384 shares of the 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 owned 527,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,054,817.10. This represents a 18.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Encompass Health

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EHC. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Encompass Health during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Colonial Trust Co SC acquired a new position in shares of Encompass Health during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Encompass Health by 749.0% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 416 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Encompass Health in the 2nd quarter valued at about $57,000. 97.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.