The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) Receives “Overweight” Rating from Stephens

Stephens restated their overweight rating on shares of The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $135.00 price target on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $112.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Ensign Group has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $123.60.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

Shares of ENSG opened at $118.62 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $121.99 and its 200-day moving average is $113.11. The Ensign Group has a 12 month low of $87.14 and a 12 month high of $127.57. The firm has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.17. The business had revenue of $980.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $975.13 million. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 17.84%. Equities analysts expect that The Ensign Group will post 4.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 31st will be given a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.20%. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio is 6.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Ensign Group news, Director Daren Shaw sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.67, for a total value of $718,020.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 31,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,754,646.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Daren Shaw sold 6,000 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.67, for a total transaction of $718,020.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 31,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,754,646.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 57,982 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.05, for a total transaction of $6,844,775.10. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 155,703 shares in the company, valued at $18,380,739.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 89,245 shares of company stock worth $10,579,862 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of The Ensign Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 295,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,481,000 after acquiring an additional 30,184 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 201,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,692,000 after purchasing an additional 40,050 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 8.0% in the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 12,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,150,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 17.4% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 31,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,885,000 after acquiring an additional 4,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Ensign Group in the third quarter worth about $2,520,000. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.