Short Interest in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Increases By 15.1%

Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,290,000 shares, an increase of 15.1% from the February 29th total of 1,990,000 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 594,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EHC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Encompass Health from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays increased their target price on Encompass Health from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Mizuho increased their target price on Encompass Health from $77.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Encompass Health presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $83.22.

Encompass Health Stock Performance

Shares of EHC stock traded down $1.20 on Tuesday, reaching $82.03. The stock had a trading volume of 852,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 650,119. The stock has a market cap of $8.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.20. Encompass Health has a 1 year low of $53.93 and a 1 year high of $83.73.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.24 billion. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.69% and a net margin of 7.33%. Equities research analysts expect that Encompass Health will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

Encompass Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. Encompass Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Encompass Health

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Encompass Health by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,997,034 shares of the company's stock valued at $667,002,000 after acquiring an additional 450,081 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,215,770 shares of the company's stock worth $548,156,000 after purchasing an additional 449,230 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 6.4% in the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,676,379 shares of the company's stock worth $381,226,000 after purchasing an additional 342,512 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 22.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,974,306 shares of the company's stock worth $266,914,000 after purchasing an additional 724,544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 4.4% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,144,147 shares of the company's stock worth $170,098,000 after purchasing an additional 133,885 shares during the last quarter. 97.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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