Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Acquires Shares of 40,040 Encompass Health Corporation $EHC

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 40,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,047,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EHC. WPG Advisers LLC grew its stake in Encompass Health by 73.3% in the fourth quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Encompass Health during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in Encompass Health by 36,200.0% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Encompass Health by 89.6% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 455 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Encompass Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark J. Tarr sold 173,148 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.47, for a total transaction of $21,724,879.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 267,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,602,622.58. This represents a 39.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John Patrick Darby sold 8,906 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.95, for a total value of $1,121,710.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 75,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,451,413.95. This trade represents a 10.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EHC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Encompass Health from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Leerink Partners set a $152.00 price objective on Encompass Health in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $140.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Encompass Health from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $148.71.

Encompass Health Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of EHC stock opened at $121.94 on Tuesday. Encompass Health Corporation has a 1 year low of $92.77 and a 1 year high of $127.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19. The business’s fifty day moving average is $109.53 and its 200-day moving average is $105.72. The stock has a market cap of $12.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.72.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. Encompass Health had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 18.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. Encompass Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.250 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Encompass Health Corporation will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Encompass Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio is 12.38%.

About Encompass Health

Encompass Health Corporation is a leading provider of post‐acute healthcare services in the United States, operating a comprehensive network of inpatient rehabilitation hospitals and home health and hospice agencies. Its inpatient rehabilitation hospitals offer intensive therapy programs for patients recovering from conditions such as stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury, cardiac and pulmonary disorders, and orthopedic procedures. Through its home health segment, Encompass Health delivers skilled nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy to patients in the comfort of their homes, while its hospice services provide end‐of‐life care focused on symptom management and emotional support for patients and families.

Founded in 1984 as HealthSouth Corporation and rebranded as Encompass Health in 2018, the company has grown organically and through acquisitions to serve patients across more than 30 states.