Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) to Issue $0.17 Quarterly Dividend

Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 20th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of 0.17 per share on Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st.

Encompass Health has decreased its dividend by an average of 17.0% per year over the last three years. Encompass Health has a dividend payout ratio of 12.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Encompass Health to earn $5.28 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 12.9%.

Encompass Health Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:EHC opened at $100.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.15 billion, a PE ratio of 22.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.92. Encompass Health has a 52 week low of $78.53 and a 52 week 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $98.67 and a 200-day moving average of $97.42.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.12. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 8.48%. Analysts predict that Encompass Health will post 4.8 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Andrew L. Price sold 5,042 shares of Encompass Health stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.