Insider Selling: Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) CEO Sells 173,148 Shares

Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC) CEO Mark Tarr sold 173,148 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.47, for a total value of $21,724,879.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 267,814 shares in the company, valued at $33,602,622.58. This trade represents a 39.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Encompass Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EHC traded down $1.50 on Tuesday, reaching $124.31. 572,895 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,080,474. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a 50-day moving average of $107.37 and a 200-day moving average of $104.81. Encompass Health Corporation has a 1-year low of $92.77 and a 1-year high of $127.99. The firm has a market cap of $12.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.72.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.07. Encompass Health had a net margin of 10.01% and a return on equity of 18.08%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. Encompass Health’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Encompass Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.250 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Encompass Health Corporation will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. This is an increase from Encompass Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.38%.

Institutional Trading of Encompass Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EHC. WPG Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Encompass Health by 73.3% in the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 324 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Encompass Health in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Encompass Health in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 89.6% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 455 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in Encompass Health by 36,200.0% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EHC. TD Cowen raised their price target on Encompass Health from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays increased their price target on Encompass Health from $140.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Encompass Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Leerink Partners set a $152.00 price objective on Encompass Health in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.71.

About Encompass Health

Encompass Health Corporation is a leading provider of post?acute healthcare services in the United States, operating a comprehensive network of inpatient rehabilitation hospitals and home health and hospice agencies. Its inpatient rehabilitation hospitals offer intensive therapy programs for patients recovering from conditions such as stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury, cardiac and pulmonary disorders, and orthopedic procedures. Through its home health segment, Encompass Health delivers skilled nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy to patients in the comfort of their homes, while its hospice services provide end?of?life care focused on symptom management and emotional support for patients and families.

Founded in 1984 as HealthSouth Corporation and rebranded as Encompass Health in 2018, the company has grown organically and through acquisitions to serve patients across more than 30 states.