Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) Short Interest Up 6.3% in January

Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,350,000 shares, a growth of 6.3% from the December 31st total of 1,270,000 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 649,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Encompass Health Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of EHC traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $100.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 107,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 595,350. The company has a market cap of $10.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day moving average of $96.49 and a 200 day moving average of $94.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Encompass Health has a 1 year low of $70.83 and a 1 year high of $104.55.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 2,458.5% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 869,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,990,000 after acquiring an additional 835,135 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Encompass Health during the 4th quarter worth about $52,094,000. abrdn plc acquired a new stake in shares of Encompass Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $17,846,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Encompass Health by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 760,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,494,000 after buying an additional 156,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Encompass Health by 22.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 700,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,412,000 after buying an additional 126,000 shares during the last quarter. 97.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on EHC. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $116.00 target price (up from $108.00) on shares of Encompass Health in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Encompass Health from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.11.

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.