Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) Sets New 52-Week Low Following Weak Earnings

Select Medical Holdings Co. (NYSE:SEM - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low on Friday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $14.34 and last traded at $14.76, with a volume of 556633 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.24.

The health services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.01). Select Medical had a return on equity of 14.04% and a net margin of 3.23%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. Select Medical's revenue was down 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Select Medical Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Select Medical's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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 buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the health services provider to buy up to 42.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SEM shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Select Medical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Benchmark raised shares of Select Medical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $23.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. 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 objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Select Medical from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $26.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Select Medical

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Select Medical

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Select Medical by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,712,990 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $239,640,000 after purchasing an additional 131,228 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Select Medical by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,431,469 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $83,533,000 after purchasing an additional 62,585 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Select Medical by 48.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,643,943 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $49,838,000 after buying an additional 864,852 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Select Medical by 3.1% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,476,816 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $41,363,000 after acquiring an additional 73,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Select Medical by 404.8% during the fourth quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 1,755,733 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $33,096,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407,902 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.48% of the company's stock.

Select Medical Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.40. The firm's 50-day moving average is $16.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Select Medical Company Profile

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.