Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Purchases 128,331 Shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 16.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 888,827 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 128,331 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.88% of Encompass Health worth $82,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Encompass Health by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,025,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,410,000 after purchasing an additional 21,329 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Encompass Health by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,673,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,781,000 after acquiring an additional 20,547 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Encompass Health by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,293,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,418,000 after acquiring an additional 8,548 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Encompass Health by 2,458.5% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 869,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,990,000 after acquiring an additional 835,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Encompass Health in the 4th quarter worth about $77,944,000. 97.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Encompass Health

In other news, CAO Andrew L. Price sold 5,042 shares of Encompass Health stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 69,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,798,129.56. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Encompass Health Price Performance

Shares of EHC opened at $97.53 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $9.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.92. Encompass Health Co. has a twelve month low of $76.11 and a twelve month high of $104.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company has a 50 day moving average of $97.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.05.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share 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, analysts predict that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on EHC. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Encompass Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.67.

Encompass Health 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.