Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Shares of Select Medical Holdings Co. (NYSE:SEM - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $15.20, but opened at $14.52. Select Medical shares last traded at $14.92, with a volume of 392,205 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SEM shares. Benchmark upgraded Select Medical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $23.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Select Medical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Select Medical in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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 note on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Select Medical has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $26.00.

Select Medical Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.17, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $15.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.56.

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

Select Medical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Select Medical's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.66%.

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

Insider Activity at Select Medical

In other news, Director Parvinderjit S. Khanuja purchased 21,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.02 per share, with a total value of $315,420.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 65,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $977,636.78. The trade was a 47.63% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David S. Chernow sold 225,000 shares of the company'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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Select Medical by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 31,441 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Vista Finance LLC grew its stake in Select Medical by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Vista Finance LLC now owns 10,969 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $183,000 after buying an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group raised its holdings in shares of Select Medical by 6.4% during 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 increased its holdings in shares of Select Medical by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 20,030 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Select Medical by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 11,304 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 978 shares during the period. 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.