Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Short Interest Update

Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) saw a large drop in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,290,000 shares, a drop of 15.7% from the August 15th total of 1,530,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 645,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on EHC shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on Encompass Health from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $113.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Encompass Health currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.38.

Encompass Health Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of EHC traded up $1.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $92.44. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 464,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 630,917. Encompass Health has a 1 year low of $57.55 and a 1 year high of $94.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $9.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a fifty day moving average of $89.80 and a 200 day moving average of $85.08.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.10. Encompass Health had a net margin of 7.88% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Encompass Health will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. This is an increase from Encompass Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Encompass Health

In related news, CFO Douglas E. Coltharp sold 12,260 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total value of $1,058,528.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 136,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,761,839.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EHC. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in Encompass Health by 239.6% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,969,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,384,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,275 shares during the period. 8 Knots Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Encompass Health during the fourth quarter valued at about $75,424,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $69,178,000. Magnetar Financial LLC grew its position in Encompass Health by 1,176.6% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Encompass Health by 102.9% in the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,399,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,364,000 after buying an additional 709,593 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

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.