Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) have been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $83.22.

EHC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Barclays increased their price target on Encompass Health from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Mizuho increased their price target on Encompass Health from $77.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EHC. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Encompass Health by 26.8% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 1,350 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Encompass Health by 3.0% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 20,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in Encompass Health in the third quarter valued at approximately $814,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Encompass Health by 22.1% in the third quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 2,754 shares during the period. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Encompass Health by 0.5% in the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,277,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,810,000 after purchasing an additional 6,009 shares during the period. 97.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Encompass Health Price Performance

EHC opened at $82.72 on Thursday. Encompass Health has a 12-month low of $57.55 and a 12-month high of $83.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.67. The company has a market capitalization of $8.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.84, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.94.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.12. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.69% and a net margin of 7.33%. The business had revenue of $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.24 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Encompass Health will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.29%.

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.