Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) Sees Strong Trading Volume Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of Select Medical Holdings Corporation (NYSE:SEM) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. Approximately 3,406,739 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 95% from the previous session’s volume of 1,748,550 shares.The stock last traded at $16.4550 and had previously closed at $16.45.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. Select Medical’s payout ratio is 21.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SEM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $16.50 target price (down from $19.00) on shares of Select Medical in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Select Medical from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Select Medical from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Select Medical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Benchmark lowered Select Medical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.63.

Select Medical Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $16.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.22. The stock has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.12.

Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The health services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Select Medical had a return on equity of 7.26% and a net margin of 2.68%.Select Medical’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.44 earnings per share. Select Medical has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.220-1.320 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Select Medical Holdings Corporation will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Select Medical announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 19th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the health services provider to buy up to 49.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Select Medical

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SEM. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in shares of Select Medical by 889.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 64,094 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $823,000 after purchasing an additional 57,618 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Select Medical by 52.9% in the third quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 524,621 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $6,736,000 after purchasing an additional 181,436 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in Select Medical by 21.3% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 430,472 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $5,527,000 after purchasing an additional 75,530 shares during the period. Western Standard LLC acquired a new position in Select Medical during the third quarter worth $13,551,000. Finally, CSM Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Select Medical by 32.0% during the third quarter. CSM Advisors LLC now owns 298,961 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,840,000 after buying an additional 72,546 shares during the period. 89.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Select Medical

Select Medical is a leading provider of specialized healthcare services in the United States, operating through two primary business segments: Hospital Division and Outpatient Rehabilitation Division. The Hospital Division offers long-term acute care (LTAC) hospitals and inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) that serve patients recovering from complex illnesses, trauma or surgery. The Outpatient Rehabilitation Division delivers physical, occupational and speech therapy services through a network of clinic locations and home-based care programs.

Headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, Select Medical was founded in 1996 and has grown through strategic partnerships, joint ventures and acquisitions.