Captrust Financial Advisors Sells 4,293 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Captrust Financial Advisors lessened its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 35.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,696 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,293 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $1,022,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ENSG. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group during the fourth quarter worth $90,747,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in The Ensign Group during the 4th quarter worth about $36,167,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 937,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,613,000 after purchasing an additional 197,865 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 4.8% in the fourth 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. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 58.6% during the fourth quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 304,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,430,000 after buying an additional 112,481 shares during the period. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.15, for a total transaction of $90,405.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,052 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,881,215.80. The trade was a 2.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ENSG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Macquarie dropped their target price on The Ensign Group from $159.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.50.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

ENSG opened at $147.04 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $129.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.66. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $116.23 and a 52-week high of $158.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.45 billion, a PE ratio of 28.77, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.03.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 6.99%. The business’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.73%.

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.