Park Avenue Securities LLC Has $450,000 Stock Holdings in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

Park Avenue Securities LLC reduced its position in shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,655 shares of the company’s stock after selling 969 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Encompass Health were worth $450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 1.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,166,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $839,520,000 after buying an additional 169,113 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,215,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,156,000 after acquiring an additional 449,230 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Encompass Health by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,283,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,586,000 after purchasing an additional 314,488 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Encompass Health by 1.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,819,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,083,000 after purchasing an additional 22,311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 14.2% during the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,598,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,966,000 after purchasing an additional 198,701 shares in the last quarter. 97.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Encompass Health Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE:EHC opened at $95.92 on Friday. Encompass Health Co. has a 12 month low of $57.55 and a 12 month high of $97.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. Encompass Health had a net margin of 7.88% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The business’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Encompass Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is a positive change from Encompass Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Encompass Health’s payout ratio is currently 17.35%.

Insider Transactions at Encompass Health

In related news, CFO Douglas E. Coltharp sold 12,260 shares of Encompass Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total transaction of $1,058,528.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 136,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,761,839.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EHC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Encompass Health to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $113.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Friday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Nine research 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.22.

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.