National HealthCare (NYSE:NHC) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of National HealthCare (NYSE:NHC) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Monday.

National HealthCare Stock Performance

NHC opened at $93.36 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. National HealthCare has a 1 year low of $87.03 and a 1 year high of $138.49. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.75.

National HealthCare Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. National HealthCare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.31%.

Insider Activity

In other National HealthCare news, VP Timothy J. Shelly sold 614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.44, for a total value of $74,564.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Health Corp National sold 28,147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.71, for a total value of $3,200,595.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,056,616 shares in the company, valued at $120,147,805.36. This trade represents a 2.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 13.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of National HealthCare

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in National HealthCare by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $624,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its position in National HealthCare by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 15,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in National HealthCare by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $964,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in National HealthCare by 5.3% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $517,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in National HealthCare by 396.3% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. 56.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About National HealthCare

National HealthCare Corporation engages in the operation of services to skilled nursing facilities, assisted and independent living facilities, homecare and hospice agencies, and health hospitals. Its skilled nursing facilities offer licensed therapy services, nutrition services, social services, activities, and housekeeping and laundry services, as well as medical services prescribed by physicians; and rehabilitative services, such as physical, speech, respiratory, and occupational therapy for patients recovering from strokes, heart attacks, orthopedic conditions, neurological illnesses, or other illnesses, injuries, or disabilities.