Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 73,308 Shares of Select Medical Holdings Corporation (NYSE:SEM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Select Medical Holdings Corporation (NYSE:SEM - Free Report) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,476,816 shares of the health services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 73,308 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.92% of Select Medical worth $41,363,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Select Medical by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 31,441 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $593,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares during the period. Vista Finance LLC lifted its holdings in Select Medical by 7.0% during the first quarter. Vista Finance LLC now owns 10,969 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $183,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares during the period. Net Worth Advisory Group lifted its holdings in Select Medical by 6.4% during the first quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 14,045 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 846 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Select Medical by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 20,030 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 867 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Select Medical by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 11,304 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 978 shares during the period. 89.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Select Medical

In other Select Medical news, CEO David S. Chernow sold 225,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $4,050,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 714,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,861,288. This represents a 23.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Parvinderjit S. Khanuja purchased 21,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $15.02 per share, with a total value of $315,420.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 65,089 shares in the company, valued at $977,636.78. The trade was a 47.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 11.60% of the company's stock.

Select Medical Price Performance

Select Medical stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $14.62. 1,299,807 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 986,609. Select Medical Holdings Corporation has a 52-week low of $14.03 and a 52-week high of $40.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $15.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.91, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.32.

Select Medical (NYSE:SEM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The health services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.01). Select Medical had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 2.81%. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. Select Medical's quarterly revenue was down 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Select Medical Holdings Corporation will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Select Medical declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the health services provider to repurchase up to 42.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Select Medical Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Select Medical's payout ratio is currently 18.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on SEM. Mizuho started coverage on Select Medical in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Select Medical from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $26.00.

Select Medical Profile

Select Medical Holdings Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates critical illness recovery hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient rehabilitation clinics, and occupational health centers in the United States. It operates in four segments: Critical Illness Recovery Hospital, Rehabilitation Hospital, Outpatient Rehabilitation, and Concentra.