Select Medical Holdings Corporation (NYSE:SEM) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 19.4% in March to 2,737,454 shares (about 2.6% of the stock), leaving a short-interest ratio of roughly 1.1 days based on average daily volume.
• The board authorized a up to $1.00 billion stock repurchase program (allowing repurchases of up to 49.5% of shares), a move that signals management believes the stock may be undervalued.
• Institutional ownership is high at 89.48%, and several hedge funds recently built or expanded positions—most notably Millennium Management, which increased its stake by 407.9% to 1,590,339 shares.

Select Medical Holdings Corporation (NYSE:SEM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,737,454 shares, a growth of 19.4% from the March 15th total of 2,292,503 shares. Approximately 2.6% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,561,073 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days.

Institutional Trading of Select Medical

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SEM. 8 Knots Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Select Medical in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,568,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Select Medical by 407.9% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,590,339 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $20,420,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277,233 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Select Medical in the 4th quarter worth approximately $17,603,000. Western Standard LLC bought a new stake in shares of Select Medical in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,551,000. Finally, Eversept Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Select Medical in the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,456,000. Institutional investors own 89.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SEM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Select Medical from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $16.50 price target (down from $19.00) on shares of Select Medical in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Benchmark downgraded Select Medical from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research downgraded Select Medical from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Select Medical from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Select Medical has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $15.63.

Select Medical Stock Performance

NYSE:SEM traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $16.41. 2,136,885 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,648,331. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.01. Select Medical has a 52 week low of $11.65 and a 52 week high of $18.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.12.

Select Medical (NYSE:SEM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The health services provider reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.07). Select Medical had a return on equity of 7.26% and a net margin of 2.68%.The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.18 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Select Medical has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.220-1.320 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. Select Medical's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.74%.

Select Medical announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the health services provider to reacquire up to 49.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Select Medical

Select Medical is a leading provider of specialized healthcare services in the United States, operating through two primary business segments: Hospital Division and Outpatient Rehabilitation Division. The Hospital Division offers long-term acute care (LTAC) hospitals and inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) that serve patients recovering from complex illnesses, trauma or surgery. The Outpatient Rehabilitation Division delivers physical, occupational and speech therapy services through a network of clinic locations and home-based care programs.

Headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, Select Medical was founded in 1996 and has grown through strategic partnerships, joint ventures and acquisitions.

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