Encompass Health Co. (EHC) To Go Ex-Dividend on April 1st

Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 20th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.17 per share on Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st.

Encompass Health has decreased its dividend by an average of 17.0% per year over the last three years. Encompass Health has a dividend payout ratio of 12.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Encompass Health to earn $5.28 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 12.9%.

Encompass Health Price Performance

EHC opened at $100.75 on Friday. Encompass Health has a 1 year low of $78.53 and a 1 year high of $104.55. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.15 billion, a PE ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.05.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Encompass Health

In other news, CAO Andrew L. Price sold 5,042 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total transaction of $495,578.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 69,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,798,129.56. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Encompass Health Company 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.