Encompass Health's (EHC) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Truist Financial

Truist Financial restated their buy rating on shares of Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC - Free Report) in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $116.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $108.00.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on EHC. Leerink Partnrs raised Encompass Health to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays increased their target price on Encompass Health from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Encompass Health from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $107.11.

Encompass Health Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Encompass Health stock traded up $1.35 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $101.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,205,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 639,027. The company has a market cap of $10.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.36, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.88. The firm's 50-day moving average is $93.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Encompass Health has a 52-week low of $61.08 and a 52-week high of $102.36.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Encompass Health had a net margin of 7.88% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Encompass Health will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Encompass Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Encompass Health's payout ratio is currently 16.43%.

Encompass Health declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Encompass Health news, CFO Douglas E. Coltharp sold 12,260 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total value of $1,058,528.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 136,227 shares in the company, valued at $11,761,839.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Encompass Health

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EHC. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 9.1% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,672 shares of the company's stock worth $1,515,000 after buying an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Encompass Health by 104.7% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 73,272 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,081,000 after acquiring an additional 37,473 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Encompass Health by 5.5% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,357 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,098,000 after acquiring an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Encompass Health by 18.7% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,259 shares of the company's stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,851 shares of the company's stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. 97.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.