Venturi Wealth Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 150.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 208 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $28,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ENSG. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,538,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its stake in The Ensign Group by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 4,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in The Ensign Group by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DeDora Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. now owns 7,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $955,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ENSG. UBS Group started coverage on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $175.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Macquarie lifted their target price on The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.17.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ENSG opened at $132.87 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $134.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.78. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.27 and a 52 week high of $158.45. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $7.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.00, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 6.99%. On average, analysts expect that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is presently 4.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daren Shaw sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $259,320.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 26,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,413,299.50. The trade was a 7.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.43, for a total value of $93,401.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 30,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,116,582.36. The trade was a 2.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 42,486 shares of company stock worth $6,254,710. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.