Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) Trading 4.8% Higher - Should You Buy?

Select Medical Holdings Co. (NYSE:SEM - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 4.8% on Monday . The company traded as high as $18.00 and last traded at $18.19. 743,845 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 10% from the average session volume of 826,515 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.35.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on SEM. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Select Medical from $40.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Select Medical from $47.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised Select Medical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho initiated coverage on Select Medical in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Benchmark raised Select Medical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $23.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Select Medical has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $26.80.

Select Medical Stock Up 0.1 %

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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $17.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.07.

Select Medical (NYSE:SEM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The health services provider reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Select Medical had a return on equity of 14.04% and a net margin of 3.23%. Research analysts forecast that Select Medical Holdings Co. will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Select Medical Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. Select Medical's payout ratio is 15.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Select Medical

In other Select Medical news, CEO David S. Chernow sold 225,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 23.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 11.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Select Medical

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Select Medical in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,556,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,536,234 shares during the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $33,096,000 after acquiring an additional 1,407,902 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Select Medical by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,643,943 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $49,838,000 after acquiring an additional 864,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Select Medical during the fourth quarter worth $14,074,000. 89.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.