Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) Price Target Raised to $110.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) had its price target raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $105.00 to $110.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on EHC. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Encompass Health to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Encompass Health has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $107.11.

Encompass Health Stock Performance

Shares of EHC stock opened at $98.91 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $94.47 and a 200-day moving average of $88.88. The company has a market cap of $9.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.35. Encompass Health has a one year low of $62.58 and a one year high of $102.36.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. Encompass Health had a net margin of 8.10% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Encompass Health will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Encompass Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.43%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Douglas E. Coltharp sold 12,260 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 136,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,761,839.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Encompass Health

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Trillium Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Encompass Health in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,432,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Encompass Health by 16.0% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,283,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,586,000 after purchasing an additional 314,488 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Encompass Health by 275.7% in the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 35,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,071,000 after purchasing an additional 26,270 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Encompass Health by 85.6% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,232,000 after purchasing an additional 6,627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Encompass Health in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,204,000. 97.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Encompass Health Company 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.