Encompass Health Corporation $EHC Shares Acquired by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC) by 1,201.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,522 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,640 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Encompass Health were worth $3,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Encompass Health by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,805,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $510,047,000 after purchasing an additional 948,202 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 3,059,159.7% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,793,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,640,000 after buying an additional 3,793,358 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,384,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,271,000 after buying an additional 603,472 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,722,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,008,000 after buying an additional 581,812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Encompass Health by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,039,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,081,000 after acquiring an additional 129,276 shares during the period. 97.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EHC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Leerink Partners set a $152.00 target price on Encompass Health in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Encompass Health in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Encompass Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Encompass Health from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Encompass Health from $153.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Encompass Health has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $143.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Patrick William Tuer sold 682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.56, for a total value of $71,309.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,755 shares in the company, valued at $2,588,382.80. The trade was a 2.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Encompass Health Stock Performance

Shares of EHC stock opened at $112.66 on Friday. Encompass Health Corporation has a 52-week low of $92.77 and a 52-week high of $127.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $11.18 billion, a PE ratio of 18.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.80.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.09. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 10.04%.The company had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. Encompass Health’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Encompass Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.890-6.110 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Encompass Health Corporation will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Encompass Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a positive change from Encompass Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. 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%. Encompass Health’s payout ratio is presently 14.02%.

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.