Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on SEM. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Select Medical from $40.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Benchmark downgraded Select Medical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Select Medical from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.50.

Select Medical Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of SEM opened at $18.46 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Select Medical has a 12 month low of $18.02 and a 12 month high of $40.98. The stock has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a PE ratio of 8.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $26.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.08.

Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The health services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.07. Select Medical had a return on equity of 15.99% and a net margin of 3.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. Select Medical’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Select Medical will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert G. Breighner, Jr. sold 4,989 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.95, for a total transaction of $99,530.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 30,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $605,602.20. The trade was a 14.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Marilyn B. Tavenner sold 32,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.09, for a total value of $674,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $463,980. The trade was a 59.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 19.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Select Medical

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Select Medical by 144.2% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,059,791 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $71,825,000 after buying an additional 1,216,263 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Select Medical by 183.9% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 679,522 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $23,824,000 after acquiring an additional 440,140 shares in the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Select Medical during the second quarter valued at approximately $14,819,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in Select Medical in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,710,000. Finally, LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in Select Medical during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,139,000. Institutional investors own 89.48% of the company’s stock.

About Select Medical

Select Medical Holdings Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates critical illness recovery hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient rehabilitation clinics, and occupational health centers in the United States. It operates in four segments: Critical Illness Recovery Hospital, Rehabilitation Hospital, Outpatient Rehabilitation, and Concentra.