Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Receives $83.22 Average Target Price from Analysts

Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $86.56.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on EHC shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Encompass Health from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $101.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Friday.

Encompass Health Stock Performance

EHC opened at $82.47 on Thursday. 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 has a 1-year low of $57.55 and a 1-year high of $85.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.91. The firm has a market cap of $8.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.94.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.19. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 7.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Encompass Health will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. Encompass Health’s payout ratio is currently 16.22%.

Institutional Trading of Encompass Health

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EHC. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of Encompass Health by 360.2% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Encompass Health in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Encompass Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Encompass Health in the third quarter worth $35,000. 97.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.