The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) Downgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG – Get Rating) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday.

Separately, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $103.60.

The Ensign Group Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:ENSG opened at $86.76 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.03. The Ensign Group has a 12 month low of $70.29 and a 12 month high of $99.52.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $809.53 million during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that The Ensign Group will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, December 31st were given a $0.058 dividend. This is a positive change from The Ensign Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 29th. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.82%.

Insider Activity at The Ensign Group

In other The Ensign Group news, CFO Suzanne D. Snapper sold 16,991 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 210,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,232,384. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Suzanne D. Snapper sold 16,991 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lee A. Daniels sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.20, for a total transaction of $190,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 47,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,522,380.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,253 shares of company stock worth $1,846,841. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Ensign Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ENSG. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 28,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,677,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 1.0% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,139,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in The Ensign Group by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management raised its stake in The Ensign Group by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 2,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.80% of the company’s stock.

About The Ensign Group

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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.