35,261 Shares in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Bought by Leuthold Group LLC

Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 35,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,025,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Encompass Health by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,166,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $839,520,000 after buying an additional 169,113 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,215,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,156,000 after acquiring an additional 449,230 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Encompass Health by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,283,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,586,000 after purchasing an additional 314,488 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Encompass Health by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,819,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,083,000 after purchasing an additional 22,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in Encompass Health by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,598,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,966,000 after purchasing an additional 198,701 shares during the last quarter. 97.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EHC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Encompass Health to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Encompass Health from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays reduced their target price on Encompass Health from $113.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Encompass Health from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Leerink Partners started coverage on Encompass Health in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Encompass Health

In related news, CFO Douglas E. Coltharp sold 12,260 shares of Encompass Health stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total transaction of $1,058,528.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 136,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,761,839.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Encompass Health Trading Up 1.2 %

Encompass Health stock opened at $92.44 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $9.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.88. Encompass Health Co. has a 52-week low of $57.55 and a 52-week high of $94.59.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 7.88%. Encompass Health’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. Analysts predict 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 paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. 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. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.