The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $165.17.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ENSG shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $175.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of The Ensign Group from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Macquarie upped their price target on shares of The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

The Ensign Group stock opened at $131.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94. 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 Ensign Group has a 1 year low of $113.27 and a 1 year high of $158.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $133.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.49.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.11). The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 6.99%. On average, research analysts forecast that The Ensign Group will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This is a boost from The Ensign Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.19%. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.89%.

Insider Activity at The Ensign Group

In other The Ensign Group news, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 39,086 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.52, for a total transaction of $5,805,052.72. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,862,292.28. This represents a 75.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 30,052 shares in the company, valued at $3,881,215.80. The trade was a 2.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,186 shares of company stock valued at $6,345,115 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its stake in The Ensign Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,497,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,630,000 after purchasing an additional 159,691 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in The Ensign Group by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,082,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,701,000 after purchasing an additional 86,676 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 5.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,363,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,181,000 after acquiring an additional 66,314 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 0.9% in the third quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 1,110,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,740,000 after acquiring an additional 10,221 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group in the third quarter worth $151,827,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

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.