Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Short Interest Update

Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,110,000 shares, a growth of 19.2% from the February 13th total of 1,770,000 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 675,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Encompass Health Price Performance

Shares of EHC traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $97.53. 560,635 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 632,830. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $97.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.05. The company has a market cap of $9.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.92. Encompass Health has a 12-month low of $76.11 and a 12-month high of $104.55.

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

Encompass Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.25%.

Insider Transactions at Encompass Health

In related news, CAO Andrew L. Price sold 5,042 shares of Encompass Health stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total transaction of $495,578.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 69,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,798,129.56. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Encompass Health

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Encompass Health by 2,870.0% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 7,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 7,089 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Encompass Health by 54.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 21,022 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,032,000 after acquiring an additional 7,412 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Encompass Health by 43.8% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 66,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,417,000 after acquiring an additional 20,242 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Encompass Health by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,673,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,781,000 after acquiring an additional 20,547 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its position in Encompass Health by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 3,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on EHC. Barclays lifted their target price on Encompass Health from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Friday, February 7th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Encompass Health from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Encompass Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.