Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on SEM. Benchmark downgraded Select Medical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Select Medical from $40.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Select Medical from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Select Medical presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.50.

Select Medical Stock Up 1.8 %

SEM opened at $19.27 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $24.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.45. Select Medical has a 12 month low of $18.02 and a 12 month high of $40.98.

Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The health services provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. Select Medical had a return on equity of 15.99% and a net margin of 3.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Select Medical will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Select Medical Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Select Medical’s payout ratio is 23.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Select Medical news, VP Robert G. Breighner, Jr. sold 4,989 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.95, for a total transaction of $99,530.55. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 30,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $605,602.20. This trade represents a 14.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Marilyn B. Tavenner sold 32,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.09, for a total value of $674,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,000 shares in the company, valued at $463,980. This represents a 59.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Select Medical by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,313 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Select Medical by 4.5% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,050 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its position in Select Medical by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 215,900 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $7,528,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Select Medical during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Select Medical during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. 89.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Select Medical

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.