Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Holdings Trimmed by VELA Investment Management LLC

VELA Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 21.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 28,678 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,830 shares during the period. VELA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Encompass Health were worth $2,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Encompass Health by 2,458.5% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 869,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,990,000 after acquiring an additional 835,135 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Encompass Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,094,000. abrdn plc acquired a new stake in shares of Encompass Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $17,846,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Encompass Health by 26.0% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 760,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,494,000 after purchasing an additional 156,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Encompass Health by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 700,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,412,000 after buying an additional 126,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Encompass Health

In other Encompass Health news, CAO Andrew L. Price sold 5,042 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total value of $495,578.18. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,164 shares in the company, valued at $6,798,129.56. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EHC. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Encompass Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Barclays raised their price target on Encompass Health from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Encompass Health from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Friday, February 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.67.

Encompass Health Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of EHC stock opened at $100.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.20. Encompass Health Co. has a twelve month low of $73.68 and a twelve month high of $104.55.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.12. Encompass Health had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 17.56%. As a group, research analysts predict that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.8 EPS for the current year.

Encompass Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.25%.

Encompass Health Company 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.