Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) Upgraded at Benchmark

Benchmark upgraded shares of Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $23.00 price target on the health services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Select Medical from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Select Medical from $40.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Select Medical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Select Medical has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.25.

Select Medical Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of SEM stock opened at $18.50 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.71. Select Medical has a fifty-two week low of $16.20 and a fifty-two week high of $40.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.45.

Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Select Medical had a return on equity of 14.04% and a net margin of 3.23%. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Select Medical will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Select Medical’s payout ratio is currently 15.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Robert G. Breighner, Jr. sold 4,989 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were 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 directly owns 30,356 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 17.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Select Medical during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,927,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Select Medical by 9.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 416,299 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $14,516,000 after purchasing an additional 36,905 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Select Medical in the third quarter valued at about $1,592,000. Argent Capital Management LLC increased its position in Select Medical by 79.8% in the 4th quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 55,144 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,039,000 after purchasing an additional 24,471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Select Medical by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,442,321 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $85,180,000 after buying an additional 46,880 shares during the last quarter. 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.