The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado cut its stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 7.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,419 shares of the company’s stock after selling 527 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ENSG. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,228,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 102.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 64,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,274,000 after purchasing an additional 32,884 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 60,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,777,000 after purchasing an additional 4,675 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 122.0% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 26,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,922,000 after purchasing an additional 14,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 9,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 1,655 shares during the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Macquarie began coverage on The Ensign Group in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer raised their target price on The Ensign Group from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on The Ensign Group from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, The Ensign Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Barry Port sold 5,618 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $842,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 53,716 shares in the company, valued at $8,057,400. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other The Ensign Group news, CEO Barry Port sold 5,618 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $842,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 53,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,057,400. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Spencer Burton sold 7,519 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.04, for a total value of $1,015,365.76. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 42,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,756,620.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,736 shares of company stock worth $3,491,039 over the last 90 days. 3.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

Shares of ENSG opened at $150.60 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $129.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.57 billion, a PE ratio of 39.63, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.96. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.00 and a 1 year high of $154.93.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 5.68%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is 6.32%.

The Ensign Group Company Profile

The Ensign Group, Inc provides skilled nursing, senior living, and rehabilitative services. It operates through two segments: Skilled Services and Standard Bearer. The company's Skilled Services segment engages in the operation of skilled nursing facilities and rehabilitation therapy services for patients with chronic conditions, prolonged illness, and the elderly; and offers nursing facilities including specialty care, such as on-site dialysis, ventilator care, cardiac, and pulmonary management, as well as standard services comprising room and board, special nutritional programs, social services, recreational activities, entertainment, and other services.