Do Encompass Health's (NYSE:EHC) Earnings Warrant Your Attention?

For beginners, it can seem like a good idea (and an exciting prospect) to buy a company that tells a good story to investors, even if it currently lacks a track record of revenue and profit. Unfortunately, these high risk investments often have little probability of ever paying off, and many investors pay a price to learn their lesson. Loss-making companies are always racing against time to reach financial sustainability, so investors in these companies may be taking on more risk than they should.

Despite being in the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, many investors still adopt a more traditional strategy; buying shares in profitable companies like Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC). While profit isn't the sole metric that should be considered when investing, it's worth recognising businesses that can consistently produce it.

View our latest analysis for Encompass Health

How Fast Is Encompass Health Growing?

The market is a voting machine in the short term, but a weighing machine in the long term, so you'd expect share price to follow earnings per share (EPS) outcomes eventually. That makes EPS growth an attractive quality for any company. We can see that in the last three years Encompass Health grew its EPS by 7.7% per year. That might not be particularly high growth, but it does show that per-share earnings are moving steadily in the right direction.

Careful consideration of revenue growth and earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margins can help inform a view on the sustainability of the recent profit growth. EBIT margins for Encompass Health remained fairly unchanged over the last year, however the company should be pleased to report its revenue growth for the period of 11% to US$5.0b. That's progress.

The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. For finer detail, click on the image.

Of course the knack is to find stocks that have their best days in the future, not in the past. You could base your opinion on past performance, of course, but you may also want to check this interactive graph of professional analyst EPS forecasts for Encompass Health.

Are Encompass Health Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Since Encompass Health has a market capitalisation of US$8.5b, we wouldn't expect insiders to hold a large percentage of shares. But we do take comfort from the fact that they are investors in the company. We note that their impressive stake in the company is worth US$109m. This suggests that leadership will be very mindful of shareholders' interests when making decisions!

Is Encompass Health Worth Keeping An Eye On?

One important encouraging feature of Encompass Health is that it is growing profits. To add an extra spark to the fire, significant insider ownership in the company is another highlight. The combination definitely favoured by investors so consider keeping the company on a watchlist. It is worth noting though that we have found 2 warning signs for Encompass Health that you need to take into consideration.

There's always the possibility of doing well buying stocks that are not growing earnings and do not have insiders buying shares. But for those who consider these important metrics, we encourage you to check out companies that do have those features. You can access a tailored list of companies which have demonstrated growth backed by significant insider holdings.

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.