The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG Shares Sold by Inceptionr LLC

Inceptionr LLC cut its stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 71.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,785 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,049 shares during the quarter. Inceptionr LLC’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 6.9% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $993,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 17.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 28,284 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,660,000 after acquiring an additional 4,145 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 35.5% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 38,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,991,000 after acquiring an additional 10,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its holdings in The Ensign Group by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 8,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John O. Agwunobi sold 246 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.87, for a total value of $46,462.02. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,676,976.73. The trade was a 2.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daren Shaw sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.57, for a total value of $178,570.00. Following the sale, the director owned 24,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,179.82. This trade represents a 3.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,142 shares of company stock worth $7,045,530. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ENSG. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price target (up from $205.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 price objective (up from $177.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on The Ensign Group from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $196.40.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

Shares of ENSG opened at $185.55 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $179.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.61. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $118.73 and a 12-month high of $193.99. The firm has a market cap of $10.75 billion, a PE ratio of 33.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The Ensign Group’s quarterly revenue was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.480-6.540 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.47%.

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.