Enhabit, Inc. (NYSE:EHAB) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Enhabit, Inc. (NYSE:EHAB) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,060,000 shares, an increase of 14.2% from the July 31st total of 2,680,000 shares. Approximately 7.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 494,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on EHAB shares. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Enhabit from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Enhabit from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $8.50 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Enhabit from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $8.75 in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Enhabit from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Enhabit news, Director Jeffrey Bolton purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.01 per share, with a total value of $40,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 78,877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $631,804.77. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Enhabit by 25.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 966,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,003,000 after acquiring an additional 193,675 shares during the period. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Enhabit during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Enhabit during the fourth quarter valued at about $256,000. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Enhabit by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,666,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,247,000 after acquiring an additional 32,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Enhabit by 56.8% in the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 489,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,067,000 after acquiring an additional 177,360 shares during the period.

Enhabit Price Performance

NYSE EHAB opened at $8.44 on Friday. Enhabit has a fifty-two week low of $7.12 and a fifty-two week high of $13.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $8.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.49. The firm has a market cap of $423.32 million, a P/E ratio of -5.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

Enhabit (NYSE:EHAB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.02. Enhabit had a positive return on equity of 1.43% and a negative net margin of 7.95%. The firm had revenue of $260.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $265.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.04 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Enhabit will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Enhabit

Enhabit, Inc provides home health and hospice services in the United States. Its home health services include patient education, pain management, wound care and dressing changes, cardiac rehabilitation, infusion therapy, pharmaceutical administration, and skilled observation and assessment services; practices to treat chronic diseases and conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, low vision, spinal stenosis, Parkinson's disease, osteoporosis, complex wound care and chronic pain, along with disease-specific plans for patients with diabetes, congestive heart failure, post-orthopedic surgery, or injury and respiratory diseases; and physical, occupational and speech therapists provide therapy services.