Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) Price Target Raised to $110.00 at UBS Group

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) had its price target hoisted by UBS Group from $100.00 to $110.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Truist Financial raised their target price on Encompass Health from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Stephens restated an overweight rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Encompass Health to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Leerink Partners began coverage on Encompass Health in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. They set an outperform rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Encompass Health from $113.00 to $109.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $102.88.

Encompass Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EHC opened at $96.01 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $9.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.95, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. Encompass Health has a one year low of $57.55 and a one year high of $97.56. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $91.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.98.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 7.88%. The company’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Encompass Health will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a $0.17 dividend. This is a positive change from Encompass Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.38%.

Encompass Health declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Encompass Health

In other news, CFO Douglas E. Coltharp sold 12,260 shares of Encompass Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total value of $1,058,528.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 136,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,761,839.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Encompass Health

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Trillium Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,432,000. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,283,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,586,000 after purchasing an additional 314,488 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 275.7% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 35,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,071,000 after purchasing an additional 26,270 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 102.9% in the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,399,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,364,000 after purchasing an additional 709,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Encompass Health by 85.6% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,232,000 after acquiring an additional 6,627 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

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.