Blair William & Co. IL Decreases Stake in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

Blair William & Co. IL cut its position in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 212,018 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,280 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL owned 0.21% of Encompass Health worth $19,580,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EHC. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Encompass Health during the 4th quarter worth $77,944,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Encompass Health by 2,458.5% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 869,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,990,000 after purchasing an additional 835,135 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in Encompass Health during the 4th quarter worth $52,094,000. abrdn plc acquired a new position in Encompass Health in the fourth quarter valued at $17,846,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,404,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $960,817,000 after buying an additional 138,196 shares during the last quarter. 97.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EHC. KeyCorp raised their price target on Encompass Health from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Encompass Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.67.

Encompass Health Stock Performance

NYSE EHC opened at $100.75 on Friday. Encompass Health Co. has a 1-year low of $78.53 and a 1-year high of $104.55. The company has a market capitalization of $10.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $98.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.17 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued 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 0.67%. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Andrew L. Price sold 5,042 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.