Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC – Get Free Report) has received 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 recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $107.67.

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Encompass Health from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com raised Encompass Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on Encompass Health from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th.

Get Our Latest Analysis on EHC

EHC opened at $96.11 on Friday. Encompass Health has a one year low of $74.45 and a one year high of $104.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $97.35 and its 200-day moving average is $96.93. The company has a market capitalization of $9.68 billion, a PE ratio of 21.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.92.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.12. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 8.48%. On average, equities analysts predict that Encompass Health will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Encompass Health’s payout ratio is presently 15.25%.

In related news, CAO Andrew L. Price sold 5,042 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total transaction of $495,578.18. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 69,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,798,129.56. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Encompass Health by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,404,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $960,817,000 after purchasing an additional 138,196 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Encompass Health by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,536,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $511,273,000 after purchasing an additional 176,135 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Encompass Health by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,025,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,410,000 after purchasing an additional 21,329 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Encompass Health by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,076,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $191,799,000 after purchasing an additional 117,617 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,973,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $182,285,000 after acquiring an additional 15,831 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat’s editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Before you consider Encompass Health, you’ll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street’s top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on… and Encompass Health wasn’t on the list.

While Encompass Health currently has a Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.