Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Raises Stock Position in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 16.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 888,827 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 128,331 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Encompass Health were worth $82,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 87.8% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Encompass Health in the third quarter valued at $40,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Encompass Health by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new position in Encompass Health in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in Encompass Health by 43.8% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on EHC. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Encompass Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Encompass Health has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $107.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Encompass Health

In other news, CAO Andrew L. Price sold 5,042 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total value of $495,578.18. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,798,129.56. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Encompass Health Stock Performance

NYSE:EHC opened at $97.53 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50-day moving average is $97.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.05. Encompass Health Co. has a 1-year low of $76.11 and a 1-year high of $104.55.

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

Encompass Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Encompass Health’s payout ratio is 15.25%.

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.