Select Medical Holdings Co. (NYSE:SEM) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Select Medical Holdings Co. (NYSE:SEM - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $26.00.

Several research firms recently weighed in on SEM. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Select Medical from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Benchmark raised Select Medical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $23.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Select Medical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Select Medical in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $25.00 price target for the company.

Select Medical Price Performance

Shares of Select Medical stock traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $15.44. The stock had a trading volume of 620,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 936,491. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of 9.35, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.34. Select Medical has a twelve month low of $14.03 and a twelve month high of $40.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock's 50 day moving average is $15.76 and its 200 day moving average is $18.01.

Select Medical (NYSE:SEM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The health services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. Select Medical had a return on equity of 14.04% and a net margin of 3.23%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Select Medical will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Select Medical announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the health services provider to repurchase up to 42.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Select Medical Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Select Medical's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.66%.

Insider Transactions at Select Medical

In other Select Medical news, Director Parvinderjit S. Khanuja purchased 21,000 shares of Select Medical stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.02 per share, with a total value of $315,420.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 65,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at $977,636.78. This represents a 47.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David S. Chernow sold 225,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $4,050,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 714,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,861,288. This represents a 23.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Select Medical

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Select Medical by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 31,441 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Vista Finance LLC raised its position in shares of Select Medical by 7.0% in the first quarter. Vista Finance LLC now owns 10,969 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $183,000 after buying an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group raised its position in shares of Select Medical by 6.4% in the first quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 14,045 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $235,000 after buying an additional 846 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Select Medical by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 20,030 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Select Medical by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 11,304 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 978 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.48% of the company's stock.

About Select Medical

Select Medical Holdings Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates critical illness recovery hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient rehabilitation clinics, and occupational health centers in the United States. It operates in four segments: Critical Illness Recovery Hospital, Rehabilitation Hospital, Outpatient Rehabilitation, and Concentra.