Summit Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 2,301 Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

Summit Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EHC. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Encompass Health by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,076,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $191,799,000 after buying an additional 117,617 shares during the last quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 73.6% during the 4th quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. now owns 750 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,332,000 after purchasing an additional 2,165 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Encompass Health by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $997,000 after purchasing an additional 1,806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in Encompass Health by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 14,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,345,000 after buying an additional 1,443 shares during the last quarter. 97.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Encompass Health Stock Down 3.7 %

EHC opened at $98.14 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. Encompass Health Co. has a one year low of $78.53 and a one year high of $104.55. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $99.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.12. Encompass Health had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 17.56%. Equities research analysts expect that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. Encompass Health’s payout ratio is 15.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Encompass Health news, CAO Andrew L. Price sold 5,042 shares of Encompass Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total transaction of $495,578.18. Following 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 trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Encompass Health from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Friday, February 7th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Encompass Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $107.67.

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.