Retirement Systems of Alabama Reduces Stake in Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its stake in Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC - Free Report) by 16.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 230,738 shares of the company's stock after selling 45,066 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.23% of Encompass Health worth $23,369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Encompass Health by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,404,081 shares of the company's stock worth $960,817,000 after purchasing an additional 138,196 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Encompass Health by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,536,251 shares of the company's stock worth $511,273,000 after purchasing an additional 176,135 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Encompass Health by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,076,869 shares of the company's stock worth $191,799,000 after purchasing an additional 117,617 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Encompass Health by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,973,846 shares of the company's stock worth $182,285,000 after purchasing an additional 15,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Encompass Health by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,679,774 shares of the company's stock worth $155,176,000 after purchasing an additional 6,164 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.25% of the company's stock.

Encompass Health Stock Performance

Shares of EHC stock opened at $119.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.60, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.89. The company's 50 day moving average is $115.81 and its 200 day moving average is $103.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Encompass Health Corporation has a 52-week low of $82.74 and a 52-week high of $123.13.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. Encompass Health had a net margin of 8.97% and a return on equity of 17.63%. Encompass Health's revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Encompass Health Corporation will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Encompass Health's payout ratio is 14.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Encompass Health news, CEO Mark J. Tarr sold 118,384 shares of Encompass Health stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.53, for a total value of $14,387,207.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 527,070 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,054,817.10. The trade was a 18.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Patrick Darby sold 10,000 shares of Encompass Health stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.79, for a total transaction of $1,147,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 79,710 shares in the company, valued at $9,149,910.90. This represents a 11.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 132,663 shares of company stock valued at $16,034,082. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens raised 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $117.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $135.00 price target (up previously from $116.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $127.00.

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.

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