AXQ Capital LP Acquires New Shares in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 10,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $985,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EHC. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Encompass Health by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,025,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,410,000 after acquiring an additional 21,329 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,673,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,781,000 after buying an additional 20,547 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,293,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,418,000 after buying an additional 8,548 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 888,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,083,000 after buying an additional 128,331 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 2,458.5% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 869,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,990,000 after buying an additional 835,135 shares during the period. 97.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EHC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Encompass Health from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised Encompass Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on Encompass Health from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.67.

Encompass Health Price Performance

Shares of EHC stock opened at $97.05 on Friday. Encompass Health Co. has a 52-week low of $76.11 and a 52-week high of $104.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $97.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.10.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.12. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 8.48%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Encompass Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Encompass Health

In other news, CAO Andrew L. Price sold 5,042 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total value of $495,578.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,798,129.56. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.