VELA Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in Encompass Health Corporation $EHC

Key Points

• VELA Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Encompass Health Corporation by 14.9%, now holding 24,411 shares valued at approximately $2.99 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Encompass Health's recent dividend increase results in an annualized yield of 0.6%, with the quarterly payment rising from $0.17 to $0.19.
• Analysts are optimistic about Encompass Health, with several upgrades raising price targets significantly, reflecting a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $139.86.

VELA Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC - Free Report) by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,411 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,267 shares during the quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC's holdings in Encompass Health were worth $2,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Encompass Health in the first quarter worth $263,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Encompass Health by 21.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,366 shares of the company's stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position 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 during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in Encompass Health by 21.8% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 21,329 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,160,000 after acquiring an additional 3,815 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on EHC. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Encompass Health from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Encompass Health from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b+)" rating on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Encompass Health from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Encompass Health from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eight have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $139.86.

Encompass Health Stock Performance

NYSE:EHC opened at $122.97 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.99. Encompass Health Corporation has a 52-week low of $87.85 and a 52-week high of $127.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.39 billion, a PE ratio of 24.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.93.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 16th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 9.22%.The business had revenue of $136.30 million during the quarter. Encompass Health has set its FY22 guidance at $3.83-$4.19 EPS. Analysts forecast that Encompass Health Corporation will post 4.8 EPS for the current year.

Encompass Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Encompass Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 1st. Encompass Health's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Encompass Health

In other news, EVP Patrick William Tuer sold 1,020 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.59, for a total value of $126,061.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 at this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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