Short Interest in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Increases By 10.9%

Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,040,000 shares, a growth of 10.9% from the July 15th total of 1,840,000 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 647,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Insider Activity

In other Encompass Health news, insider Elissa Joy Charbonneau sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.02, for a total transaction of $850,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,580,861.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Elissa Joy Charbonneau sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.02, for a total transaction of $850,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,580,861.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Douglas E. Coltharp sold 12,260 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total value of $1,058,528.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 136,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,761,839.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Encompass Health

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EHC. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Encompass Health by 239.6% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,969,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,384,000 after buying an additional 1,389,275 shares during the last quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC purchased a new position in Encompass Health during the fourth quarter worth about $75,424,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Encompass Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $69,178,000. Magnetar Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Encompass Health by 1,176.6% in the 2nd quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 744,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,899,000 after purchasing an additional 814,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in Encompass Health by 102.9% during the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,399,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,364,000 after purchasing an additional 709,593 shares during the period. 97.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EHC has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. SVB Leerink began coverage on Encompass Health in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.38.

Encompass Health Stock Performance

Shares of EHC stock traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $88.38. 289,771 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 652,546. Encompass Health has a 12-month low of $57.55 and a 12-month high of $94.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.24.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 7.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Encompass Health will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Encompass Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is an increase from Encompass Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio is 18.38%.

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.