State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 2,151 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 11.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,202 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,151 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $2,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $792,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in The Ensign Group by 294.7% in the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 9,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,262 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 14.4% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 52,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 6,583 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in The Ensign Group in the second quarter worth $3,500,000. Finally, AXA S.A. boosted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 9.4% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 54,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,757,000 after purchasing an additional 4,684 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Barry Port sold 5,618 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $842,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,716 shares in the company, valued at $8,057,400. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,118 shares of company stock valued at $1,660,200. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

The Ensign Group Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of The Ensign Group stock opened at $148.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.09 and a 52-week high of $158.45. The firm has a market cap of $8.53 billion, a PE ratio of 36.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.64.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.01. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 5.84% and a return on equity of 17.21%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is presently 5.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on ENSG. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on The Ensign Group from $167.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Stephens boosted their price objective on The Ensign Group from $163.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.20.

About The Ensign Group

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.