Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) Given Buy Rating at Benchmark

Benchmark reissued their buy rating on shares of Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $39.00 price objective on the health services provider’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Select Medical from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Select Medical currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $34.40.

Select Medical Stock Performance

Shares of SEM traded up $2.98 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $31.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,993,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 504,667. The company has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.97, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.92. Select Medical has a 52-week low of $21.28 and a 52-week high of $33.51.

Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The health services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.05. Select Medical had a net margin of 3.97% and a return on equity of 18.45%. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.22 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Select Medical will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Select Medical Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. Select Medical’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.81%.

Insider Transactions at Select Medical

In related news, Chairman Robert A. Ortenzio sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.90, for a total value of $1,495,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 6,689,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $200,021,073.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 19.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Select Medical

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its position in Select Medical by 16.9% during the first quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 156,574 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,721,000 after buying an additional 22,674 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Select Medical during the 1st quarter valued at about $47,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Select Medical in the 1st quarter worth approximately $690,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Select Medical by 26.1% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 55,543 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,675,000 after purchasing an additional 11,507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argent Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Select Medical by 13.9% during the first quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 15,557 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 1,896 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.48% of the company’s stock.

About Select Medical

Select Medical Holdings Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates critical illness recovery hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient rehabilitation clinics, and occupational health centers in the United States. It operates in four segments: Critical Illness Recovery Hospital, Rehabilitation Hospital, Outpatient Rehabilitation, and Concentra.