Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Select Medical Holdings Co. (NYSE:SEM)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $17.68, but opened at $18.19. Select Medical shares last traded at $18.38, with a volume of 257,777 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Select Medical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Benchmark raised Select Medical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Select Medical from $47.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Select Medical from $40.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.25.

Select Medical Stock Up 4.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The health services provider reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Select Medical had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 14.04%. Equities research analysts predict that Select Medical Holdings Co. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Select Medical Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Select Medical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.30%.

Insider Transactions at Select Medical

In related news, VP Robert G. Breighner, Jr. sold 4,989 shares of Select Medical stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.95, for a total transaction of $99,530.55. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 30,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $605,602.20. This trade represents a 14.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Marilyn B. Tavenner sold 32,000 shares of Select Medical stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.09, for a total value of $674,880.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 22,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $463,980. The trade was a 59.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 19.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Select Medical

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of Select Medical by 10.6% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 17,441 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 1,665 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Select Medical in the third quarter worth about $193,000. Sippican Capital Advisors increased its stake in shares of Select Medical by 30.9% in the third quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 12,442 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 2,937 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Select Medical by 63.4% in the third quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 12,536 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 4,862 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Select Medical by 6.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,357,823 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $82,208,000 after acquiring an additional 147,032 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.48% of the company’s stock.

Select Medical Company Profile

Select Medical Holdings Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates critical illness recovery hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient rehabilitation clinics, and occupational health centers in the United States. It operates in four segments: Critical Illness Recovery Hospital, Rehabilitation Hospital, Outpatient Rehabilitation, and Concentra.