Hospitals have been witnessing increasing demand for their services with rising COVID-19 cases. Furthermore, with demand for care for other, chronic, diseases on the rise, we think it could be wise to scoop up the shares of quality hospital stocks Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC), Select Medical Holdings (NYSE:SEM), and Hanger (HNGR). Read on.Nations worldwide are experiencing a surge in hospital admissions owing to a resurgence of COVID-19 infections and post-covid syndromes, and an increase in the diagnosis of chronic diseases. This has buoyed investors’ interest in hospital stocks, as evidenced by the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLV) 3.8% gains over the past month and 18% year-to-date returns.
In addition, the Biden Administration recently revised its Build Back Better social spending bill, which includes several healthcare provisions. The passage of this bill could potentially open new doors for the hospital industry. Moreover, according to a Grand View Research Report, the global hospital services market is expected to grow at an 8.1% CAGR through 2026.
Against this backdrop, we think it could be wise to bet on fundamentally strong hospital stocks Encompass Health Corporation (EHC), Select Medical Holdings Corporation (SEM), and Hanger, Inc. (HNGR), which are expected to continue gaining in price in the coming months.