Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Shares Sold by Ifrah Financial Services Inc.

Ifrah Financial Services Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,552 shares of the company’s stock after selling 282 shares during the period. Ifrah Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Encompass Health were worth $304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EHC. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $20,210,000. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 364.4% during the fourth quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $928,000 after buying an additional 10,915 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,318,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,989,000 after purchasing an additional 29,926 shares in the last quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. increased its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 112.4% in the 4th quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 99,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,664,000 after acquiring an additional 52,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 101,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,787,000 after buying an additional 17,684 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on EHC. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays upped their price target on Encompass Health from $101.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective (up from $85.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Encompass Health presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $90.29.

Encompass Health Stock Down 0.3 %

Encompass Health stock traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $83.21. The company had a trading volume of 601,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 716,039. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.28. Encompass Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $57.55 and a fifty-two week high of $85.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $79.15 and its 200-day moving average is $71.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.92.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.19. Encompass Health had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. Encompass Health’s revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Encompass Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mark J. Tarr sold 44,976 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.27, for a total value of $3,745,151.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 554,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,139,740.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Encompass Health

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.