Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Shares of Select Medical Holdings Co. (NYSE:SEM) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $17.68, but opened at $18.19. Select Medical shares last traded at $18.38, with a volume of 257,777 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Select Medical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Benchmark upgraded Select Medical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Select Medical from $47.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Select Medical from $40.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Select Medical currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.25.

Select Medical Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $19.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.81. The company has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.45.

Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The health services provider reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Select Medical had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 14.04%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Select Medical Holdings Co. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Select Medical Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Select Medical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Select Medical news, VP Robert G. Breighner, Jr. sold 4,989 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.95, for a total transaction of $99,530.55. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 30,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $605,602.20. This trade represents a 14.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Select Medical

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SEM. Creative Planning boosted its position in Select Medical by 10.6% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 17,441 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 1,665 shares during the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Select Medical during the third quarter valued at approximately $193,000. Sippican Capital Advisors raised its holdings in Select Medical by 30.9% during the third quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 12,442 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 2,937 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Select Medical by 63.4% in the third quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 12,536 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 4,862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Select Medical by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,357,823 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $82,208,000 after purchasing an additional 147,032 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.48% of the company’s stock.

Select Medical Company Profile

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.