Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) Releases FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) updated its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Monday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 4.190-4.330 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 4.190. The company issued revenue guidance of $5.3 billion-$5.4 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $5.3 billion. Encompass Health also updated its FY24 guidance to $4.19-$4.33 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on EHC. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Encompass Health to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Encompass Health in a 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.11.

Encompass Health Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Encompass Health stock traded down $0.83 during trading on Thursday, reaching $100.51. 453,689 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 638,032. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. Encompass Health has a 1-year low of $61.08 and a 1-year high of $102.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a PE ratio of 24.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.88.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. Encompass Health had a net margin of 7.88% and a return on equity of 17.83%. Encompass Health’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Encompass Health will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.43%.

Encompass Health announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Encompass Health

In other news, CFO Douglas E. Coltharp sold 12,260 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 136,227 shares in the company, valued at $11,761,839.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.