HighTower Advisors LLC Raises Position in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 18,955 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,764 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Encompass Health were worth $1,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Encompass Health by 87.8% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Encompass Health in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Encompass Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in shares of Encompass Health by 43.8% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Encompass Health in the third quarter valued at about $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on EHC. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Encompass Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Andrew L. Price sold 5,042 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total value of $495,578.18. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 69,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,798,129.56. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Encompass Health Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of EHC opened at $97.05 on Monday. Encompass Health Co. has a 1-year low of $76.11 and a 1-year high of $104.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $97.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.76, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.92.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.12. Encompass Health had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 17.56%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.8 EPS for the current year.

Encompass Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Encompass Health’s payout ratio is currently 15.25%.

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.