DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Grows Stock Holdings in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 72.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,661 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,056 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Encompass Health were worth $823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EHC. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $845,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Encompass Health by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 8,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $712,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 12,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $997,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Horrell Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 29,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,425,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Encompass Health by 31.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Encompass Health

In other news, CFO Douglas E. Coltharp sold 12,260 shares of Encompass Health stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total transaction of $1,058,528.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 136,227 shares in the company, valued at $11,761,839.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EHC. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Encompass Health to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Encompass Health from $113.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.38.

Encompass Health Stock Down 0.4 %

Encompass Health stock opened at $92.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.27 billion, a PE ratio of 24.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $89.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.08. Encompass Health Co. has a 1-year low of $57.55 and a 1-year high of $94.59.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 7.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is a positive change from Encompass Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.38%.

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.