Sapient Capital LLC Purchases New Position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wasatch Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors Inc. now owns 6,409,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $576,893,000 after buying an additional 288,585 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,307,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $501,423,000 after buying an additional 134,749 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,929,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,292,000 after buying an additional 38,818 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,066,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,853,000 after buying an additional 45,370 shares during the period. Finally, Van Berkom & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 1,000,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,020,000 after buying an additional 121,432 shares during the period. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:ENSG opened at $118.69 on Tuesday. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.14 and a 1-year high of $127.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a PE ratio of 32.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.94.

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

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Activity at The Ensign Group

In related news, VP Beverly B. Wittekind sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.65, for a total value of $1,216,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 37,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,611,994.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other The Ensign Group news, VP Beverly B. Wittekind sold 10,000 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.65, for a total transaction of $1,216,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 37,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,611,994.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Daren Shaw sold 6,000 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.67, for a total transaction of $718,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,754,646.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 84,782 shares of company stock valued at $10,048,943. 3.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ENSG shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $112.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, The Ensign Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.20.

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.