Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 1,433 Shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky trimmed its position in shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,456 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,433 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned 0.06% of Encompass Health worth $5,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 8 Knots Management LLC purchased a new stake in Encompass Health in the 4th quarter worth approximately $75,424,000. Magnetar Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 1,176.6% in the second quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 744,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,899,000 after acquiring an additional 814,018 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 102.9% in the fourth quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,399,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,364,000 after acquiring an additional 709,593 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Encompass Health by 2,302.7% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 603,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,780,000 after buying an additional 578,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Encompass Health by 614.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 540,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,637,000 after buying an additional 464,897 shares in the last quarter. 97.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on EHC. Barclays lowered their price target on Encompass Health from $113.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Encompass Health in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Encompass Health in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Encompass Health currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.88.

Encompass Health Price Performance

Shares of EHC stock opened at $95.09 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $9.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.70, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $91.51 and its 200 day moving average is $86.41. Encompass Health Co. has a 1-year low of $57.55 and a 1-year high of $97.56.

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

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 paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is a positive change from Encompass Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.38%.

Encompass Health declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Douglas E. Coltharp sold 12,260 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total transaction of $1,058,528.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 136,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,761,839.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

About Encompass Health

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.