Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Short Interest Down 6.8% in May

Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,650,000 shares, a drop of 6.8% from the April 30th total of 1,770,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 654,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on EHC shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $101.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price target (up from $85.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Encompass Health presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $92.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark J. Tarr sold 44,976 shares of Encompass Health stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.27, for a total value of $3,745,151.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 554,098 shares in the company, valued at $46,139,740.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Mark J. Tarr sold 44,976 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.27, for a total transaction of $3,745,151.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 554,098 shares in the company, valued at $46,139,740.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Elissa Joy Charbonneau sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.02, for a total transaction of $850,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,594 shares in the company, valued at $1,580,861.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,519 shares of company stock worth $5,816,091 over the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Encompass Health in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in Encompass Health by 360.2% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Encompass Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Encompass Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Encompass Health during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

Encompass Health Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of EHC stock traded down $2.83 during trading on Monday, reaching $83.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,012,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 638,421. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. Encompass Health has a 1-year low of $57.55 and a 1-year high of $87.94. The company has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $83.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.96.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.19. Encompass Health had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Encompass Health will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Encompass Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. Encompass Health’s payout ratio is 16.22%.

Encompass Health Company Profile

Encompass Health Corporation provides post-acute healthcare services in the United States and Puerto Rico. It owns and operates inpatient rehabilitation hospitals that provide medical, nursing, therapy, and ancillary services. The company provides specialized rehabilitative treatment on an inpatient basis to patients who have experienced physical or cognitive disabilities or injuries due to medical conditions, such as strokes, hip fractures, and various debilitating neurological conditions.