Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Sells 4,853 Shares of Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC)

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC decreased its stake in Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC - Free Report) by 10.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 41,312 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,853 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC's holdings in Encompass Health were worth $4,184,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Encompass Health Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of EHC traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $110.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,155,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 731,885. The stock has a market cap of $11.12 billion, a PE ratio of 22.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick 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. The company's fifty day moving average price is $119.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.70.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion during 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Encompass Health Corporation will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Encompass Health's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.05%.

Insider Activity at Encompass Health

In related news, CEO Mark J. Tarr sold 118,384 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 527,070 shares in the company, valued at $64,054,817.10. This represents a 18.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John Patrick Darby sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.79, for a total transaction of $1,147,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 79,710 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders sold 132,663 shares of company stock worth $16,034,082 in the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on EHC. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $135.00 price objective (up previously from $116.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $117.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Encompass Health from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Encompass Health has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $131.50.

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.