PharVision Advisers LLC Buys Shares of 3,688 The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $490,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,497,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,630,000 after buying an additional 159,691 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in The Ensign Group by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,082,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,701,000 after acquiring an additional 86,676 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 944,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,430,000 after purchasing an additional 7,542 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in The Ensign Group by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 937,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,613,000 after acquiring an additional 197,865 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $90,747,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ENSG opened at $149.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market cap of $8.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $131.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.38. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a one year low of $116.23 and a one year high of $158.45.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 6.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Ensign Group news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.15, for a total transaction of $90,405.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 30,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,881,215.80. The trade was a 2.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Daren Shaw sold 1,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.47, for a total value of $290,794.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,625,985.22. The trade was a 7.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,238 shares of company stock worth $912,050 in the last ninety days. 3.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ENSG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Macquarie dropped their price target on The Ensign Group from $159.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.50.

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.