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

Shares of Select Medical Holdings Co. (NYSE:SEM - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the five brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One 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 analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $26.00.

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

Select Medical Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of Select Medical stock traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $15.27. The stock had a trading volume of 912,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 881,879. 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 has a 1 year low of $14.03 and a 1 year high of $40.98. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.40.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. Select Medical had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 14.04%. The business's revenue was down 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Select Medical will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Select Medical Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Select Medical's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.66%.

Select Medical declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the health services provider to buy up to 42.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Select Medical

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

Institutional Trading of Select Medical

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SEM. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Select Medical by 179.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,296 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Select Medical by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,955 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 1,244 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Select Medical by 217.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,501 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 4,453 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Select Medical by 47.8% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,974 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 2,255 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthquest Corp bought a new position in Select Medical during the first quarter worth about $143,000. 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.