Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on EHC. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Encompass Health from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Encompass Health from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Encompass Health from $140.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Encompass Health from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $148.50.

Encompass Health Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of EHC opened at $123.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.75. Encompass Health has a 1 year low of $92.77 and a 1 year high of $127.99. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.23.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.07. Encompass Health had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 18.08%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. Encompass Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Encompass Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Encompass Health will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Encompass Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio is 12.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Encompass Health

In related news, CEO Mark J. Tarr sold 173,148 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.47, for a total value of $21,724,879.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 267,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,602,622.58. This trade represents a 39.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Darby sold 8,906 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.95, for a total transaction of $1,121,710.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 75,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,451,413.95. This trade represents a 10.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 186,912 shares of company stock worth $23,434,845 in the last ninety days. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EHC. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Encompass Health in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Encompass Health during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Encompass Health by 89.6% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the 2nd quarter valued at about $56,000. Institutional investors own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

Encompass Health Company Profile

Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC) is a provider of post-acute healthcare services in the United States. The company operates inpatient rehabilitation hospitals that care for patients recovering from illness, injury, surgery or other medical conditions requiring intensive rehabilitation.

Its rehabilitation programs commonly serve patients recovering from strokes, brain and spinal cord injuries, neurological disorders, cardiac and pulmonary conditions, hip fractures, amputations and other orthopedic conditions.