Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Lowers Holdings in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC decreased its holdings in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 28.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 57,897 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,511 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Encompass Health were worth $5,864,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,404,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $960,817,000 after purchasing an additional 138,196 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,536,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $511,273,000 after purchasing an additional 176,135 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,076,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,799,000 after purchasing an additional 117,617 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,973,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $182,285,000 after purchasing an additional 15,831 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Encompass Health by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,679,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,176,000 after acquiring an additional 6,164 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Encompass Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John Patrick Darby sold 10,000 shares of Encompass Health stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.79, for a total value of $1,147,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 79,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,149,910.90. The trade was a 11.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Mark J. Tarr sold 118,384 shares of Encompass Health stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.53, for a total transaction of $14,387,207.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 527,070 shares in the company, valued at $64,054,817.10. The trade was a 18.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 132,663 shares of company stock valued at $16,034,082 in the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Encompass Health Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:EHC opened at $121.57 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.25 billion, a PE ratio of 27.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Encompass Health Co. has a twelve month low of $82.74 and a twelve month high of $123.13. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.79.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. Encompass Health had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 17.56%. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Encompass Health’s payout ratio is 14.05%.

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.