Victory Capital Management Inc. Lowers Position in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC - Free Report) by 4.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 572,019 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,369 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.57% of Encompass Health worth $55,280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Encompass Health by 16.1% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 72,286 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,986,000 after acquiring an additional 10,022 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Encompass Health by 532.4% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 50,290 shares of the company's stock worth $4,860,000 after buying an additional 42,338 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in Encompass Health by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 7,952 shares of the company's stock valued at $769,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Encompass Health by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,670 shares of the company's stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Encompass Health by 9.1% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. 97.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Encompass Health from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.11.

Encompass Health Stock Down 1.7 %

Encompass Health stock traded down $1.76 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $99.45. The stock had a trading volume of 319,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 639,111. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.88. Encompass Health Co. has a 1-year low of $63.59 and a 1-year high of $104.55. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $96.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 8.10%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. Encompass Health's payout ratio is presently 16.43%.

Encompass Health announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.