Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Increases Stock Holdings in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 2,302.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 603,558 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 578,438 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.60% of Encompass Health worth $51,780,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Encompass Health by 1.3% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $845,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Encompass Health by 1.5% in the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 8,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $712,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Encompass Health by 1.2% in the first quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 12,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $997,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Encompass Health by 0.5% in the first quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 29,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,425,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Encompass Health by 31.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 616 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EHC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Encompass Health from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. UBS Group raised their price target on Encompass Health from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Encompass Health in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded Encompass Health to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Encompass Health currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.38.

Encompass Health Price Performance

NYSE EHC opened at $92.65 on Monday. Encompass Health Co. has a one year low of $57.55 and a one year high of $94.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $90.04 and a 200 day moving average of $85.32. The company has a market capitalization of $9.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.04, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.10. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 7.88%. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. Encompass Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Encompass Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. This is a boost from Encompass Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.38%.

Encompass Health declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Encompass Health news, CFO Douglas E. Coltharp sold 12,260 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 136,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,761,839.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.