C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. Purchases 318 Shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. increased its position in shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 73.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 750 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 318 shares during the quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Encompass Health were worth $69,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,332,000 after purchasing an additional 2,165 shares during the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Encompass Health by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $997,000 after buying an additional 1,806 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 14,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,345,000 after buying an additional 1,443 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in Encompass Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,924,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Encompass Health during the fourth quarter worth $100,637,000. Institutional investors own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EHC. StockNews.com raised shares of Encompass Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Encompass Health from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target 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 research 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 an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $107.67.

Encompass Health Stock Down 0.4 %

EHC opened at $100.75 on Monday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $98.67 and a 200-day moving average of $97.46. Encompass Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $78.53 and a fifty-two week high of $111.00. The company has a market capitalization of $10.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.92.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.12. Encompass Health had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 17.56%. On average, equities analysts expect that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.8 EPS for the current year.

Encompass Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Encompass Health’s payout ratio is 15.25%.

Insider Transactions at Encompass Health

In related news, CAO Andrew L. Price sold 5,042 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $6,798,129.56. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.