Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Raises Stock Holdings in The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 28.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,056 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,717 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $11,698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,569,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $795,964,000 after buying an additional 1,750,645 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,558,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,961,000 after buying an additional 199,983 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in The Ensign Group by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,498,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,107,000 after acquiring an additional 49,117 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in The Ensign Group by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,332,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,124,000 after acquiring an additional 118,110 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in The Ensign Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,090,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,033,000 after acquiring an additional 5,458 shares in the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ENSG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of The Ensign Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Zacks Research lowered shares of The Ensign Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $215.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of The Ensign Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $228.00 price target on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Ensign Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.00.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ ENSG opened at $183.14 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.93. The company has a market cap of $10.70 billion, a PE ratio of 28.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.69. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $141.58 and a 1-year high of $218.00.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.12. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.12% and a net margin of 6.90%.The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.750-7.850 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is 4.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Ensign Group

In other news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.28, for a total value of $114,996.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 21,352 shares in the company, valued at $3,507,706.56. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John O. Agwunobi sold 392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total transaction of $67,055.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,625,583.18. This represents a 3.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,792 shares of company stock worth $309,599. 4.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about The Ensign Group

Here are the key news stories impacting The Ensign Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 earnings beat expectations: Adjusted EPS was $1.92, exceeding the $1.80 consensus estimate and rising 20.8% year over year. GAAP diluted EPS increased 16.7% to $1.68, while revenue climbed 17.3% to $1.44 billion. The Ensign Group Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Guidance was raised: Ensign increased 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $7.75–$7.85 from $7.48–$7.62 and revenue guidance to $5.87–$5.92 billion from $5.81–$5.86 billion. The new EPS midpoint is projected to grow 18.7% from 2025.
• Positive Sentiment: Operating trends remained favorable: Same-facility occupancy improved to 84.1%, skilled mix revenue increased 10.1%, and management cited clinical quality measures above peer averages and rehospitalization rates below the national average. Ensign also added 20 operations and reported $262.3 million in cash plus $591.6 million of available credit.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst valuation support: The reported consensus price target is approximately $213.50, implying potential upside relative to recent trading levels. Consensus price target report
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling: Director John O. Agwunobi sold 392 shares for approximately $67,056 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transaction reduced his holdings by 3.96%, but the planned nature of the sale limits its significance as a bearish signal.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal overhang persists: Rosen Law Firm and Kaplan Fox announced investigations into potential securities-law violations tied to allegations raised in a Hunterbrook short-seller report concerning staffing, care quality and financial disclosures. The claims remain allegations and could create litigation, regulatory and reputational risks. Kaplan Fox investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Acquisition execution risk: Newly acquired facilities have below-average occupancy and significant clinical and operational challenges, which could pressure margins if integration takes longer than expected.

About The Ensign Group

The Ensign Group, Inc is a diversified provider of post-acute healthcare services in the United States, operating a network of skilled nursing, assisted living, independent living, home health and hospice care centers. The company’s model emphasizes integrated care by employing multidisciplinary teams—including nursing staff, therapists and physicians—to deliver personalized rehabilitation and long-term care services for seniors and other patients recovering from injury, illness or surgery.

Through its owned and managed centers, The Ensign Group offers a broad spectrum of rehabilitation services such as physical, occupational and speech therapy.