The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $165.17.

ENSG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Macquarie raised their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $175.00 target price on the stock.

Insider Activity at The Ensign Group

In other The Ensign Group news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.15, for a total value of $90,405.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 30,052 shares in the company, valued at $3,881,215.80. This trade represents a 2.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 39,086 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.52, for a total transaction of $5,805,052.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,862,292.28. This represents a 75.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,186 shares of company stock valued at $6,345,115 over the last three months. 3.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Ensign Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in The Ensign Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,497,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,630,000 after buying an additional 159,691 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in The Ensign Group by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,082,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,701,000 after buying an additional 86,676 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in The Ensign Group by 5.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,363,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,181,000 after buying an additional 66,314 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in The Ensign Group by 0.9% in the third quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 1,110,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,740,000 after buying an additional 10,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new stake in The Ensign Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $151,827,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

The Ensign Group Stock Up 1.1 %

The Ensign Group stock opened at $130.33 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The Ensign Group has a twelve month low of $113.27 and a twelve month high of $158.45. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $133.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.32.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.11). The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 17.07%. As a group, analysts expect that The Ensign Group will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.19%. This is a boost from The Ensign Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.89%.

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.