Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC) have earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $148.20.

EHC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Encompass Health from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Encompass Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 5th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Encompass Health from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th.

Encompass Health Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Encompass Health stock opened at $122.06 on Thursday. Encompass Health has a twelve month low of $92.77 and a twelve month high of $127.99. The stock has a market cap of $12.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $119.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.90.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.07. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 10.01%.The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Encompass Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.250 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Encompass Health will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Encompass Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark J. Tarr sold 173,148 shares of Encompass Health stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.47, for a total value of $21,724,879.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 267,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,602,622.58. The trade was a 39.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Darby sold 8,906 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.95, for a total transaction of $1,121,710.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 75,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,451,413.95. This represents a 10.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 186,912 shares of company stock valued at $23,434,845. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Encompass Health

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EHC. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Encompass Health during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,059,762,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Encompass Health by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,946,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,605,000 after buying an additional 137,892 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Encompass Health by 3.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,674,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,013,000 after buying an additional 50,647 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Encompass Health during the fourth quarter valued at $133,221,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Encompass Health by 1.6% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,182,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,390,000 after acquiring an additional 18,740 shares during the last quarter. 97.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Encompass Health Company Profile

Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC) is a provider of post-acute healthcare services in the United States. The company operates inpatient rehabilitation hospitals that care for patients recovering from illness, injury, surgery or other medical conditions requiring intensive rehabilitation.

Its rehabilitation programs commonly serve patients recovering from strokes, brain and spinal cord injuries, neurological disorders, cardiac and pulmonary conditions, hip fractures, amputations and other orthopedic conditions.