Creative Planning Boosts Stock Holdings in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,086 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Encompass Health were worth $1,844,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EHC. Magnetar Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 1,176.6% during the 2nd quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 744,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,899,000 after purchasing an additional 814,018 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Encompass Health by 2,302.7% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 603,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,780,000 after acquiring an additional 578,438 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Encompass Health by 614.8% in the 1st 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 during the period. Scout Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Encompass Health in the 1st quarter valued at $29,356,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Encompass Health by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,283,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,586,000 after acquiring an additional 314,488 shares during the period. 97.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EHC. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Encompass Health to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $104.67.

Insider Activity at Encompass Health

In related news, CFO Douglas E. Coltharp sold 12,260 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Encompass Health Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of EHC stock opened at $93.13 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $93.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $9.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.76, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.88. Encompass Health Co. has a twelve month low of $59.57 and a twelve month high of $98.74.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. Encompass Health had a net margin of 7.88% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The company’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Encompass Health Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.35%.

Encompass Health announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.