Blair William & Co. IL Increases Stock Position in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 4.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 219,800 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,953 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL owned 0.22% of Encompass Health worth $18,857,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the second quarter valued at about $40,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 192.3% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the second quarter valued at about $60,000. 97.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EHC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $113.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $100.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Douglas E. Coltharp sold 12,260 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total value of $1,058,528.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 136,227 shares in the company, valued at $11,761,839.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Encompass Health Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of EHC opened at $92.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $89.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.08. Encompass Health Co. has a twelve month low of $57.55 and a twelve month high of $94.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.88, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.88.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 7.88% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This is a positive change from Encompass Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio 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.