National HealthCare Co. (NYSE:NHC) Plans $0.61 Quarterly Dividend

National HealthCare Co. (NYSE:NHC) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 7th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.61 per share on Friday, January 31st. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th.

National HealthCare has raised its dividend by an average of 4.0% per year over the last three years.

National HealthCare Stock Down 1.9 %

National HealthCare stock opened at $109.62 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $122.04 and a 200-day moving average of $122.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. National HealthCare has a twelve month low of $87.03 and a twelve month high of $138.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 13.74 and a beta of 0.43.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded National HealthCare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Health Corp National sold 28,147 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.71, for a total transaction of $3,200,595.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,056,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,147,805.36. This represents a 2.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 13.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

National HealthCare Company Profile

National HealthCare Corporation engages in the operation of services to skilled nursing facilities, assisted and independent living facilities, homecare and hospice agencies, and health hospitals. Its skilled nursing facilities offer licensed therapy services, nutrition services, social services, activities, and housekeeping and laundry services, as well as medical services prescribed by physicians; and rehabilitative services, such as physical, speech, respiratory, and occupational therapy for patients recovering from strokes, heart attacks, orthopedic conditions, neurological illnesses, or other illnesses, injuries, or disabilities.