West Coast Financial LLC Buys 697 Shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

West Coast Financial LLC boosted its stake in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,671 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 697 shares during the quarter. West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings in Encompass Health were worth $4,607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Magnetar Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 1,176.6% during the second quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 744,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,899,000 after purchasing an additional 814,018 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 2,302.7% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 603,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,780,000 after acquiring an additional 578,438 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 614.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 540,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,637,000 after acquiring an additional 464,897 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 379.7% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 578,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,587,000 after acquiring an additional 457,796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,997,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $667,002,000 after acquiring an additional 450,081 shares during the last quarter. 97.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Encompass Health Stock Performance

NYSE:EHC traded up $2.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $95.82. The stock had a trading volume of 136,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 629,847. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.07. Encompass Health Co. has a 12-month low of $57.55 and a 12-month high of $97.56. The stock has a market cap of $9.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Encompass Health announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Encompass Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This is a boost from Encompass Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Encompass Health’s payout ratio is 17.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Douglas E. Coltharp sold 12,260 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total transaction of $1,058,528.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 136,227 shares in the company, valued at $11,761,839.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EHC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Encompass Health to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Encompass Health presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.22.

Encompass Health 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.