Quest Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

Quest Partners LLC trimmed its position in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 43.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,067 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,058 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Encompass Health were worth $876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EHC. UBS Group lifted their price target on Encompass Health from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $107.11.

Encompass Health Stock Down 0.2 %

EHC opened at $98.90 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50-day moving average of $96.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.63. Encompass Health Co. has a 12 month low of $63.78 and a 12 month high of $104.55.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Encompass Health declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Encompass Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.43%.

Encompass Health Profile

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.