Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) Upgraded 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 report report published on Tuesday morning.

SEM has been the subject of several other research reports. Benchmark cut Select Medical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Select Medical from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Select Medical from $40.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.50.

Select Medical Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:SEM opened at $18.65 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. Select Medical has a one year low of $18.02 and a one year high of $40.98.

Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The health services provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.07. Select Medical had a return on equity of 15.99% and a net margin of 3.97%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Select Medical will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Select Medical Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Select Medical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Select Medical

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SEM. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Select Medical by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,498,772 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $157,728,000 after buying an additional 95,578 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Select Medical by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,442,321 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $85,180,000 after purchasing an additional 46,880 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $82,208,000 after buying an additional 147,032 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Select Medical by 144.2% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,059,791 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $71,825,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Select Medical by 1.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,646,320 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $57,407,000 after buying an additional 24,439 shares during the last quarter. 89.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.