Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Acquires 130 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,676 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 130 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ENSG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in The Ensign Group by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,661,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $828,834,000 after purchasing an additional 39,695 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,620,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,031,000 after buying an additional 221,838 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in The Ensign Group by 2.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,322,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,577,000 after buying an additional 35,862 shares during the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in The Ensign Group by 2.1% during the second quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 877,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,502,000 after buying an additional 18,412 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in The Ensign Group by 11.7% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 571,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,693,000 after acquiring an additional 59,933 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Ensign Group news, COO Spencer Burton sold 7,519 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.04, for a total transaction of $1,015,365.76. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 42,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,756,620.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, COO Spencer Burton sold 7,519 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.04, for a total transaction of $1,015,365.76. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 42,629 shares in the company, valued at $5,756,620.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Daren Shaw sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.71, for a total transaction of $283,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,127,303.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,736 shares of company stock valued at $3,491,039 over the last three months. 3.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

The Ensign Group Price Performance

Shares of ENSG stock opened at $147.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $145.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $129.95. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a one year low of $90.00 and a one year high of $154.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.53.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 5.68%. The Ensign Group’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

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

The Ensign Group 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.