Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC - Free Report) by 62.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,295 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,501 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Encompass Health were worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EHC. Magnetar Financial LLC grew its holdings in Encompass Health by 1,176.6% during the 2nd quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 744,836 shares of the company's stock worth $63,899,000 after acquiring an additional 814,018 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 578,438 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 464,897 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,598,042 shares of the company's stock valued at $131,966,000 after buying an additional 198,701 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,166,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $839,520,000 after buying an additional 169,113 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EHC. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $116.00 price objective (up from $108.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.11.

Encompass Health Price Performance

NYSE:EHC traded up $0.38 on Monday, hitting $99.23. The company had a trading volume of 656,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 641,649. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $96.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.35. Encompass Health Co. has a 52 week low of $63.78 and a 52 week high of $104.55.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. Encompass Health had a net margin of 8.10% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.29 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Encompass Health's dividend payout ratio is 16.43%.

Encompass Health declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Encompass Health 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.