Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) have earned an average rating of “Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $107.11.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $116.00 price objective (up previously from $108.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Encompass Health from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Encompass Health from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Encompass Health

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EHC. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Encompass Health by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,025,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,410,000 after buying an additional 21,329 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Encompass Health by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,819,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,083,000 after buying an additional 22,311 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Encompass Health by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,673,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,781,000 after buying an additional 20,547 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Encompass Health by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,284,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,139,000 after purchasing an additional 12,433 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 2,458.5% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 869,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,990,000 after purchasing an additional 835,135 shares during the period. 97.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Encompass Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EHC opened at $92.42 on Tuesday. Encompass Health has a one year low of $65.99 and a one year high of $104.55. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $99.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $9.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.86.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. Encompass Health had a net margin of 8.10% and a return on equity of 17.60%. 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 business earned $0.86 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Encompass Health will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.43%.

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.