Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Lowers Holdings in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. reduced its position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,940 shares of the company’s stock after selling 159 shares during the quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.09% of The Ensign Group worth $6,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ENSG. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in The Ensign Group by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 149,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,820,000 after acquiring an additional 41,894 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 9,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 3,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $491,000 after buying an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in The Ensign Group by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 22,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,032,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in The Ensign Group by 147.0% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 39,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,301,000 after buying an additional 23,742 shares in the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ENSG opened at $166.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $150.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.68. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.73 and a fifty-two week high of $166.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.05. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 6.99%. The business had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.32 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is presently 4.54%.

Insider Transactions at The Ensign Group

In other The Ensign Group news, CFO Suzanne D. Snapper sold 8,379 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.21, for a total transaction of $1,241,851.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 269,692 shares in the company, valued at $39,971,051.32. The trade was a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.48, for a total transaction of $107,436.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 27,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,274,724.96. The trade was a 2.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 13,798 shares of company stock worth $2,080,733. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on ENSG. Stephens increased their price objective on The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Macquarie decreased their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $159.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price target (up from $185.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Ensign Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.00.

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.