Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

SEM has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on Select Medical from $40.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Benchmark downgraded Select Medical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.50.

Select Medical Stock Performance

SEM stock opened at $17.63 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.07. Select Medical has a 12-month low of $16.20 and a 12-month high of $40.98. The firm has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The health services provider reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.11). Select Medical had a return on equity of 15.99% and a net margin of 3.97%. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Select Medical will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

Select Medical Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Select Medical’s payout ratio is currently 30.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Select Medical

In other Select Medical news, VP Robert G. Breighner, Jr. sold 4,989 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.95, for a total value of $99,530.55. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 30,356 shares in the company, valued at $605,602.20. This represents a 14.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Marilyn B. Tavenner sold 32,000 shares of Select Medical stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.09, for a total value of $674,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $463,980. This trade represents a 59.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 19.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Select Medical

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning raised its position in Select Medical by 10.6% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 17,441 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $608,000 after acquiring an additional 1,665 shares in the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Select Medical in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $193,000. Sippican Capital Advisors lifted its stake in Select Medical by 30.9% during the third quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 12,442 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 2,937 shares during the last quarter. EMC Capital Management boosted its holdings in Select Medical by 63.4% during the third quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 12,536 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 4,862 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Select Medical by 6.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,357,823 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $82,208,000 after buying an additional 147,032 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.48% of the company’s stock.

Select Medical Company Profile

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.