Insider Selling: Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) EVP Sells 14,543 Shares of Stock

Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) EVP John Patrick Darby sold 14,543 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.94, for a total transaction of $1,220,739.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 84,773 shares in the company, valued at $7,115,845.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Encompass Health Stock Performance

Shares of EHC traded up $1.92 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $86.43. The stock had a trading volume of 277,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 659,227. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.79. The firm has a market cap of $8.70 billion, a PE ratio of 23.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.92. Encompass Health Co. has a one year low of $57.55 and a one year high of $86.58.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 7.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Encompass Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Encompass Health’s payout ratio is 16.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Encompass Health

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 118,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,761,000 after buying an additional 6,280 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Encompass Health during the first quarter worth about $1,592,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Encompass Health by 10.6% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its holdings in Encompass Health by 1.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 87,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,245,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SPC Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Encompass Health by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 47,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,914,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on EHC shares. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Encompass Health from $101.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.29.

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.