Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Short Interest Down 6.8% in May

Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,650,000 shares, a drop of 6.8% from the April 30th total of 1,770,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 654,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Friday, April 26th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Encompass Health from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Encompass Health from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Encompass Health from $101.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Encompass Health news, insider Elissa Joy Charbonneau sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.02, for a total transaction of $850,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,580,861.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Encompass Health news, EVP John Patrick Darby sold 14,543 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.94, for a total value of $1,220,739.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 84,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,115,845.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Elissa Joy Charbonneau sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.02, for a total value of $850,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,580,861.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,519 shares of company stock worth $5,816,091 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Encompass Health in the 4th quarter worth about $20,210,000. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Encompass Health by 364.4% in the 4th quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $928,000 after acquiring an additional 10,915 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Encompass Health by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,318,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,989,000 after acquiring an additional 29,926 shares in the last quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. raised its position in shares of Encompass Health by 112.4% in the 4th quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 99,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,664,000 after acquiring an additional 52,847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Encompass Health by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 1,150,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,786,000 after acquiring an additional 175,975 shares in the last quarter. 97.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Encompass Health Trading Down 3.3 %

NYSE:EHC traded down $2.83 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $83.56. 1,012,459 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 638,421. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Encompass Health has a one year low of $57.55 and a one year high of $87.94. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.96.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 7.60%. Encompass Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Encompass Health will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 1st. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.22%.

Encompass Health Company Profile

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.