Short Interest in Select Medical Holdings Co. (NYSE:SEM) Expands By 17.3%

Select Medical Holdings Co. (NYSE:SEM) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,470,000 shares, a growth of 17.3% from the February 13th total of 3,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,040,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days. Currently, 4.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Select Medical Stock Performance

Select Medical stock opened at $16.85 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.83. Select Medical has a twelve month low of $16.20 and a twelve month high of $40.98. The company has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The health services provider reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Select Medical had a return on equity of 14.04% and a net margin of 3.23%. Research analysts expect that Select Medical will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Select Medical Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Select Medical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SEM has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Select Medical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Select Medical from $47.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Benchmark upgraded Select Medical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Select Medical from $40.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Select Medical

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SEM. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC bought a new position in Select Medical during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Phocas Financial Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Select Medical during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,877,000. Brucke Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Select Medical during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $245,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Select Medical by 726.3% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 66,497 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,253,000 after acquiring an additional 58,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management increased its position in Select Medical by 342,890.0% during the 4th quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 34,299 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 34,289 shares during the period. 89.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Select Medical Company Profile

Select Medical Holdings Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates critical illness recovery hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient rehabilitation clinics, and occupational health centers in the United States. It operates in four segments: Critical Illness Recovery Hospital, Rehabilitation Hospital, Outpatient Rehabilitation, and Concentra.