Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Trims Holdings in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. decreased its position in shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,770 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,241 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. owned 0.10% of Encompass Health worth $9,306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EHC. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 3.5% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Encompass Health by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 3,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Encompass Health by 87.8% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Encompass Health by 43.8% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. 97.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on EHC shares. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Friday, February 7th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Encompass Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Encompass Health has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $107.67.

Insider Activity at Encompass Health

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

Encompass Health Trading Up 1.1 %

EHC opened at $100.27 on Friday. Encompass Health Co. has a one year low of $73.68 and a one year 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 stock has a market cap of $10.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $96.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.20.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.8 EPS for the current year.

Encompass Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid 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 0.68%. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.25%.

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.