William Blair Investment Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

William Blair Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,889,004 shares of the company’s stock after selling 185,898 shares during the quarter. Encompass Health comprises about 0.9% of William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 3.86% of Encompass Health worth $333,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EHC. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Encompass Health during the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Encompass Health by 192.3% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Encompass Health by 31.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 616 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Encompass Health during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Encompass Health news, CFO Douglas E. Coltharp sold 12,260 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total transaction of $1,058,528.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 136,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,761,839.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Encompass Health Stock Up 0.7 %

EHC opened at $93.25 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $89.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.63. Encompass Health Co. has a 52 week low of $57.55 and a 52 week high of $94.38. The company has a market cap of $9.39 billion, a PE ratio of 25.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 7.88%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Encompass Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. This is a boost from Encompass Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on EHC shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Encompass Health from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $113.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Encompass Health to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Encompass Health from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $100.38.

Encompass Health 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.