Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC cut its holdings in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 57,498 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,102 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Encompass Health were worth $5,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EHC. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 87.8% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 43.8% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the third quarter valued at approximately $68,000. 97.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Andrew L. Price sold 5,042 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total transaction of $495,578.18. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,798,129.56. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EHC. Barclays lifted their price target on Encompass Health from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company 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 research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Encompass Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $107.67.

Encompass Health Stock Performance

NYSE EHC opened at $99.54 on Friday. Encompass Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $74.27 and a fifty-two week high of $104.55. The stock has a market cap of $10.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a fifty day moving average of $96.84 and a 200-day moving average of $96.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

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

Encompass Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.25%.

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.