The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $165.17.

ENSG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Macquarie upped their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on The Ensign Group from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group began coverage on The Ensign Group in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $175.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Thursday, February 6th.

Insider Transactions at The Ensign Group

In other news, Director Daren Shaw sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $259,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,325 shares in the company, valued at $3,413,299.50. This represents a 7.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.48, for a total transaction of $96,936.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 30,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,258,536.96. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,186 shares of company stock worth $6,345,115 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Ensign Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 90.2% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 14,618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,102,000 after purchasing an additional 6,931 shares during the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 210.9% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 6,545 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 67.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 13,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,038,000 after purchasing an additional 5,632 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 1,110,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,740,000 after purchasing an additional 10,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 379,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,595,000 after purchasing an additional 78,570 shares during the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

ENSG opened at $130.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The Ensign Group has a 12 month low of $113.27 and a 12 month high of $158.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.32. The stock has a market cap of $7.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.98.

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

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

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

The Ensign Group Company 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.