Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Lowers Stock Holdings in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD decreased its position in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG – Get Rating) by 56.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 892,883 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,153,895 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $70,985,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ENSG. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in The Ensign Group by 37.3% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 1,839 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in The Ensign Group by 8.6% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 52,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,725,000 after purchasing an additional 4,140 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in The Ensign Group during the first quarter valued at about $957,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in The Ensign Group by 54.5% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 28,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,535,000 after purchasing an additional 9,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in The Ensign Group by 5.1% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 136,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,330,000 after purchasing an additional 6,609 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.80% of the company’s stock.

The Ensign Group Stock Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ ENSG opened at $86.76 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.96, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $70.29 and a 1 year high of $99.52. The business’s 50-day moving average is $92.02 and its 200 day moving average is $90.03.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $809.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $802.31 million. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 7.43%. The Ensign Group’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 31st. Investors of record on Saturday, December 31st were paid a $0.058 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 29th. This is a boost from The Ensign Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.27%. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ENSG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on The Ensign Group from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut The Ensign Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Ensign Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Suzanne D. Snapper sold 16,991 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total value of $1,631,136.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 210,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,232,384. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other The Ensign Group news, CFO Suzanne D. Snapper sold 16,991 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.00, for a total transaction of $1,631,136.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 210,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,232,384. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lee A. Daniels sold 2,000 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.20, for a total value of $190,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 47,504 shares in the company, valued at $4,522,380.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,253 shares of company stock valued at $1,846,841 over the last ninety days. 4.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

The Ensign Group Company Profile

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The Ensign Group, Inc engages in providing skilled nursing, senior living, and rehabilitative care services. It operates through the Skilled Services and Standard Bearer segments. The Skilled Services segments includes the operation of skilled nursing facilities and rehabilitation therapy services. The Standard Bearer segment refers to the leasing to skilled nursing and senior living operations.