DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Grows Stock Holdings in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 72.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,661 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,056 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Encompass Health were worth $823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of EHC. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Encompass Health by 239.6% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,969,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,384,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,275 shares during the last quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC acquired a new position in Encompass Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $75,424,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Encompass Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $69,178,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Encompass Health by 102.9% in the fourth quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,399,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,364,000 after acquiring an additional 709,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 614.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 540,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,637,000 after acquiring an additional 464,897 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Encompass Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EHC opened at $92.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.08. Encompass Health Co. has a 12 month low of $57.55 and a 12 month high of $94.59.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.10. Encompass Health had a net margin of 7.88% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Encompass Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. This is a boost from Encompass Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Encompass Health’s payout ratio is currently 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.