Select Medical Holdings Co. (NYSE:SEM) Receives $26.00 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Select Medical Holdings Co. (NYSE:SEM - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $26.00.

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

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Select Medical

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Select Medical during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,556,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Select Medical by 2,552.7% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,596,414 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $30,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536,234 shares in the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC increased its position in Select Medical by 404.8% in the fourth quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 1,755,733 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $33,096,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407,902 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Select Medical by 48.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,643,943 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $49,838,000 after purchasing an additional 864,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Select Medical during the fourth quarter valued at $14,074,000. 89.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Select Medical Stock Up 0.6%

SEM traded up $0.10 during trading on Thursday, hitting $15.44. 620,371 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 933,514. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.35, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.34. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $15.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.44. Select Medical has a 12-month low of $14.03 and a 12-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.

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

Select Medical Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Select Medical's payout ratio is 18.66%.

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

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.