Encompass Health Co. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.17 (NYSE:EHC)

Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 17th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.17 per share on Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd.

Encompass Health has decreased its dividend by an average of 18.8% per year over the last three years. Encompass Health has a dividend payout ratio of 14.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Encompass Health to earn $4.63 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 14.7%.

Encompass Health Stock Up 0.3 %

EHC traded up $0.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $97.19. 770,051 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 627,180. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $92.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.77. Encompass Health has a twelve month low of $57.55 and a twelve month high of $98.74. The stock has a market cap of $9.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.88.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.10. Encompass Health had a net margin of 7.88% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. Encompass Health's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Encompass Health will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Encompass Health announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EHC. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Encompass Health to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Truist Financial upped 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on Encompass Health in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $104.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Douglas E. Coltharp sold 12,260 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total transaction of $1,058,528.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 136,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,761,839.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.