Select Medical (SEM) Competitors

Select Medical (NYSE:SEM) and Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC) are both mid-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, media sentiment, institutional ownership, community ranking, valuation, profitability and risk.

Does the media favor SEM or EHC?

In the previous week, Encompass Health had 30 more articles in the media than Select Medical. MarketBeat recorded 36 mentions for Encompass Health and 6 mentions for Select Medical. Encompass Health's average media sentiment score of 0.69 beat Select Medical's score of 0.25 indicating that Encompass Health is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Select Medical	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Encompass Health	11 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	11 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, SEM or EHC?

Select Medical has a beta of 1.37, indicating that its stock price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Encompass Health has a beta of 0.94, indicating that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in SEM or EHC?

Encompass Health received 161 more outperform votes than Select Medical when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 71.83% of users gave Encompass Health an outperform vote while only 57.70% of users gave Select Medical an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Select Medical	Outperform Votes 326 57.70%	Underperform Votes 239 42.30%
Encompass Health	Outperform Votes 487 71.83%	Underperform Votes 191 28.17%

Is SEM or EHC more profitable?

Encompass Health has a net margin of 7.60% compared to Select Medical's net margin of 3.65%. Encompass Health's return on equity of 18.01% beat Select Medical's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Select Medical	3.65%	16.93%	3.30%
Encompass Health	7.60%	18.01%	6.55%

Which has better valuation & earnings, SEM or EHC?

Encompass Health has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Select Medical. Select Medical is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Encompass Health, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Select Medical	$6.66B	0.54	$243.49M	$1.91	14.60
Encompass Health	$4.80B	1.75	$352M	$3.70	22.62

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in SEM or EHC?

89.5% of Select Medical shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.3% of Encompass Health shares are held by institutional investors. 17.5% of Select Medical shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Encompass Health shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is SEM or EHC a better dividend stock?

Select Medical pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Encompass Health pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Select Medical pays out 26.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Encompass Health pays out 16.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Do analysts rate SEM or EHC?

Select Medical currently has a consensus target price of $34.40, indicating a potential upside of 24.01%. Encompass Health has a consensus target price of $88.13, indicating a potential upside of 5.67%. Given Select Medical's higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Select Medical is more favorable than Encompass Health.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Select Medical	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Encompass Health	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.13

Summary

Encompass Health beats Select Medical on 16 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.