Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Declares $0.17 Quarterly Dividend

Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 20th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of 0.17 per share on Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%.

Encompass Health has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 17.0% per year over the last three years. Encompass Health has a payout ratio of 12.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Encompass Health to earn $5.28 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 12.9%.

Encompass Health Stock Performance

NYSE:EHC traded down $2.49 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $99.09. 86,342 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 637,092. Encompass Health has a twelve month low of $73.68 and a twelve month high of $104.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $95.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.73.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, analysts expect that Encompass Health will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Encompass Health from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on Encompass Health from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $116.00 target price (up from $108.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.67.

Insider Transactions at Encompass Health

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

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.