Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Lowers Stake in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC cut its position in shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC - Free Report) by 28.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,897 shares of the company's stock after selling 23,511 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.06% of Encompass Health worth $5,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 5.7% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 7,123 shares of the company's stock valued at $721,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN purchased a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the 1st quarter worth $203,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 159.7% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,070 shares of the company's stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 658 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company's stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 140,033.3% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 4,204 shares of the company's stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 4,201 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.25% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Encompass Health news, insider Elissa Joy Charbonneau sold 4,279 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.61, for a total transaction of $498,974.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,394,422.38. This trade represents a 26.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark J. Tarr sold 118,384 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 527,070 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,054,817.10. This represents a 18.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 132,663 shares of company stock worth $16,034,082. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EHC has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Encompass Health from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen cut Encompass Health from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group upped their price objective on Encompass Health from $117.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Stephens upgraded 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. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Encompass Health from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Encompass Health presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $127.00.

Encompass Health Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE EHC traded down $1.11 on Tuesday, reaching $119.19. 604,957 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 701,336. The business's fifty day moving average price is $112.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Encompass Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $82.74 and a fifty-two week high of $123.13.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.18. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 8.48%. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Encompass Health Dividend Announcement

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

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.