Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Shares Bought by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC - Free Report) by 20.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,722 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,061 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Encompass Health were worth $3,861,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Encompass Health by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 64,870 shares of the company's stock worth $5,991,000 after acquiring an additional 3,886 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 139.3% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,598 shares of the company's stock worth $979,000 after purchasing an additional 6,169 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Encompass Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in Encompass Health by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 20,366 shares of the company's stock worth $1,881,000 after buying an additional 2,039 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis acquired a new stake in Encompass Health during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $441,000. 97.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Encompass Health Price Performance

EHC traded up $0.79 during trading on Friday, hitting $116.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 780,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 684,974. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $101.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.23. Encompass Health Co. has a twelve month low of $82.74 and a twelve month high of $121.39.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. Encompass Health had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The firm's revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Encompass Health's payout ratio is 14.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EHC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. KeyCorp increased their price target on Encompass Health from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Encompass Health from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Encompass Health from $117.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Encompass Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $120.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John Patrick Darby sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.79, for a total value of $1,147,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 79,710 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,149,910.90. This trade represents a 11.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Andrew L. Price sold 5,042 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total transaction of $495,578.18. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,164 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,798,129.56. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is 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.