Zions Bancorporation National Association UT Makes New Investment in Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC)

Key Points

• Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired 7,684 shares of Encompass Health Corporation valued at approximately $778,000 during the first quarter.
• Several brokerages have upgraded Encompass Health's stock rating to "strong buy" with an average target price of $133.17, reflecting strong investor confidence.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.19, boosting the annualized payout to $0.76, which translates to a yield of 0.6%.

Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 7,684 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $778,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Encompass Health during the first quarter valued at $263,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 419 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,218 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,017 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EHC. Stephens raised shares of Encompass Health from an "overweight" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $135.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. KeyCorp upped their price objective 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. Truist Financial reissued 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 upped their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $133.17.

Insider Activity at Encompass Health

In other news, CEO Mark J. Tarr sold 118,384 shares of the firm's 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 owned 527,070 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,054,817.10. This trade represents a 18.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Encompass Health Stock Performance

NYSE:EHC opened at $117.42 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $11.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.86. Encompass Health Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $85.55 and a fifty-two week high of $123.13. The firm's 50 day moving average is $116.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.76.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.20. Encompass Health had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. Encompass Health's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Encompass Health Corporation will post 4.8 EPS for the current year.

Encompass Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Encompass Health's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Encompass Health's payout ratio is 13.31%.

Encompass Health Company 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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