LPL Financial LLC Acquires 10,967 Shares of Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stakes in Encompass Health Corporation by 30.8%, acquiring an additional 10,967 shares, bringing its total holdings to 46,525 shares valued at approximately $4.7 million.
• Analyst ratings for Encompass Health have become more positive, with Barclays raising the price objective from $118.00 to $129.00 and several firms issuing "buy" or "strong-buy" ratings along with a consensus price target of $133.17.
• Encompass Health recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.19, up from $0.17, indicating a positive outlook with an annualized payout of $0.76.

LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC - Free Report) by 30.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,525 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,967 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Encompass Health were worth $4,712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Encompass Health in the 1st quarter valued at about $263,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Encompass Health by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,366 shares of the company's stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Encompass Health by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,727 shares of the company's stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Encompass Health by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 9,597 shares of the company's stock valued at $972,000 after buying an additional 2,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Encompass Health by 88.7% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,290 shares of the company's stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 2,017 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EHC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective 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. Stephens upgraded shares of Encompass Health from an "overweight" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. KeyCorp lifted their price target 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. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $135.00 price target (up previously from $116.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Monday, April 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $133.17.

Encompass Health Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:EHC opened at $119.17 on Thursday. Encompass Health Corporation has a 12 month low of $86.87 and a 12 month high of $123.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.00 billion, a PE ratio of 23.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.86. 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $116.19 and its 200 day moving average is $109.14.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. Encompass Health's revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Encompass Health Corporation will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Encompass Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Encompass Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Encompass Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark J. Tarr sold 118,384 shares of the business'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 directly owned 527,070 shares in the company, valued at $64,054,817.10. The trade was a 18.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

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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