Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by investment analysts at Barclays from $118.00 to $129.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Barclays's price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.02% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on EHC. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Encompass Health from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Friday, February 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $120.86.

Encompass Health Price Performance

NYSE:EHC traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $116.20. 369,846 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 679,651. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $100.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.83. Encompass Health has a 1 year low of $82.38 and a 1 year high of $117.52. The company has a market cap of $11.70 billion, a PE ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Encompass Health

In other Encompass Health news, CAO Andrew L. Price sold 5,042 shares of Encompass Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total transaction of $495,578.18. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,164 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,798,129.56. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Encompass Health by 23.3% in the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,065 shares of the company's stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Encompass Health by 6.8% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 296,861 shares of the company's stock worth $30,066,000 after acquiring an additional 18,885 shares during the last quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Encompass Health by 17.4% in the first quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 123,205 shares of the company's stock worth $12,478,000 after acquiring an additional 18,298 shares during the last quarter. Seascape Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 4.1% during the first quarter. Seascape Capital Management now owns 24,173 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,448,000 after buying an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lightrock Netherlands B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 32.8% during the first quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 103,006 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,450,000 after buying an additional 25,465 shares during the last quarter. 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.