Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) Earns Overweight Rating from Analysts at KeyCorp

Equities researchers at KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) in a research note issued on Friday, Briefing.com reports. The firm set an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp’s price target suggests a potential upside of 22.88% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on EHC. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $113.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $104.22.

Encompass Health Stock Performance

Encompass Health stock opened at $93.59 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.07. Encompass Health has a twelve month low of $57.55 and a twelve month high of $97.56. The company has a market capitalization of $9.42 billion, a PE ratio of 23.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.10. Encompass Health had a net margin of 7.88% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Encompass Health will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Transactions at Encompass Health

In other news, CFO Douglas E. Coltharp sold 12,260 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total value of $1,058,528.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 136,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,761,839.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EHC. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Encompass Health by 387.7% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in Encompass Health during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in Encompass Health by 58.9% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Encompass Health by 31.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Encompass Health during the second quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 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.