The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) Receives $119.20 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $119.20.

A number of research firms have commented on ENSG. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on The Ensign Group from $112.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on The Ensign Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd.

The Ensign Group Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of ENSG opened at $117.82 on Monday. 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 market cap of $6.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $122.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.42. The Ensign Group has a 12-month low of $87.14 and a 12-month high of $127.57.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17. The business had revenue of $980.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $975.13 million. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.84% and a net margin of 5.61%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Ensign Group will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 10,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.56, for a total transaction of $1,269,648.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 147,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,328,344. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 57,982 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.05, for a total transaction of $6,844,775.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 155,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,380,739.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 10,800 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.56, for a total value of $1,269,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 147,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,328,344. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 89,245 shares of company stock valued at $10,579,862 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,621,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $743,042,000 after buying an additional 310,182 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors Inc. now owns 6,409,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $576,893,000 after acquiring an additional 288,585 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,620,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,031,000 after acquiring an additional 221,838 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in The Ensign Group by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,929,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,292,000 after buying an additional 38,818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in The Ensign Group by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 1,211,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,905,000 after buying an additional 36,587 shares in the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.