Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 258,593 Shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 25.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 766,812 shares of the company’s stock after selling 258,593 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.76% of Encompass Health worth $74,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EHC. Magnetar Financial LLC raised its position in Encompass Health by 1,176.6% in the 2nd quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 744,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,899,000 after buying an additional 814,018 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 2,302.7% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 603,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,780,000 after purchasing an additional 578,438 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Encompass Health by 614.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 540,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,637,000 after purchasing an additional 464,897 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Encompass Health by 14.2% in the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,598,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,966,000 after purchasing an additional 198,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Encompass Health by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,166,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $839,520,000 after purchasing an additional 169,113 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

Encompass Health Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of EHC stock opened at $101.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.44, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $96.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.07. Encompass Health Co. has a one year low of $63.59 and a one year high of $104.55.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 8.10%. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Encompass Health’s payout ratio is currently 16.43%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EHC. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $116.00 price target (up from $108.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.11.

About Encompass Health

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.