Truist Financial Reiterates Buy Rating for Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC)

Truist Financial reiterated their buy rating on shares of Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $116.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $108.00.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on EHC. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Encompass Health to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.11.

Encompass Health Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of EHC stock opened at $98.91 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.88. Encompass Health has a fifty-two week low of $62.58 and a fifty-two week high of $102.36.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. Encompass Health had a net margin of 8.10% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Encompass Health will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Encompass Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Encompass Health’s payout ratio is 16.43%.

Insider Activity at Encompass Health

In related news, CFO Douglas E. Coltharp sold 12,260 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total value of $1,058,528.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 136,227 shares in the company, valued at $11,761,839.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Encompass Health

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Trillium Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Encompass Health in the 1st quarter valued at $4,432,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in Encompass Health by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,283,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,586,000 after buying an additional 314,488 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Encompass Health by 275.7% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 35,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,071,000 after buying an additional 26,270 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Encompass Health by 85.6% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,232,000 after buying an additional 6,627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Encompass Health during the 2nd quarter worth $2,204,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

About Encompass Health

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.