Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Shares Bought by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 5.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,353 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Encompass Health were worth $1,060,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 379.7% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 578,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,587,000 after buying an additional 457,796 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Encompass Health by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,997,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $667,002,000 after acquiring an additional 450,081 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Encompass Health by 31.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, Gibson Capital LLC acquired a new position in Encompass Health in the first quarter valued at $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

Encompass Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EHC opened at $96.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $9.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.19, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.88. Encompass Health Co. has a twelve month low of $57.55 and a twelve month high of $98.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $92.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.67.

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

Encompass Health declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Encompass Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. This is a boost from Encompass Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Douglas E. Coltharp sold 12,260 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total value of $1,058,528.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 136,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,761,839.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on EHC shares. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Encompass Health in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Barclays cut their price target 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. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Encompass Health from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Encompass Health has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $104.67.

Encompass Health 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.