Braidwell LP Buys Shares of 113,335 Encompass Health Corporation $EHC

Braidwell LP bought a new position in shares of Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 113,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,396,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 23.4% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,515,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,567,000 after purchasing an additional 476,564 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Encompass Health by 0.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,773,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,526,000 after buying an additional 8,765 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Encompass Health by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,616,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,279,000 after acquiring an additional 7,349 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,541,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,780,000 after acquiring an additional 397,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,410,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,141,000 after acquiring an additional 70,387 shares in the last quarter. 97.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mark J. Tarr sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.64, for a total transaction of $16,746,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 377,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,096,094.80. This trade represents a 28.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Treasurer Edmund Fay sold 11,937 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.00, for a total transaction of $1,277,259.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer directly owned 89,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,557,775. The trade was a 11.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Encompass Health from $150.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Encompass Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Encompass Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Encompass Health has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.29.

Encompass Health Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of EHC opened at $100.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Encompass Health Corporation has a 1-year low of $92.77 and a 1-year high of $127.99. The stock has a market cap of $9.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.98.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 9.54%.Encompass Health’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. Encompass Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.810-6.100 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Encompass Health Corporation will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 1st. Encompass Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.72%.

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.