Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Acquires 224,477 Shares of Encompass Health Corporation $EHC

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Encompass Health Corporation by 25.1%, now holding over 1.1 million shares valued at approximately $113.4 million.
• Encompass Health recently reported a 12.0% revenue increase year-over-year in its latest earnings report, with earnings per share of $1.40 exceeding analyst estimates by $0.20.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share, up from the previous $0.17, reflecting a commitment to returning value to investors.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC - Free Report) by 25.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,119,259 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 224,477 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 1.11% of Encompass Health worth $113,359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EHC. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Encompass Health during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 22.9% in the first quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 671 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Encompass Health by 19.0% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 720 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Encompass Health during the 1st quarter worth about $84,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.25% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on EHC shares. Stephens upgraded Encompass Health from an "overweight" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Encompass Health from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seven have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Encompass Health has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Encompass Health news, EVP Patrick William Tuer sold 1,020 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.59, for a total transaction of $126,061.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,329,177.14. This represents a 5.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Encompass Health Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of Encompass Health stock traded down $1.43 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $124.62. 418,506 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 631,334. 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 50 day moving average of $117.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.11. The stock has a market cap of $12.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.92. Encompass Health Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $87.85 and a fifty-two week high of $127.15.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.43 billion. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 9.22%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. Encompass Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.120-5.340 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Encompass Health Corporation will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Increases Dividend

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

Encompass Health 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.