The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) Earns Overweight Rating from Stephens

Stephens reissued their overweight rating on shares of The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $135.00 target price on the stock.

ENSG has been the topic of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on The Ensign Group from $112.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on The Ensign Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $123.60.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ ENSG opened at $117.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.42. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $121.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.33. The Ensign Group has a fifty-two week low of $87.14 and a fifty-two week high of $127.57.

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 firm had revenue of $980.38 million for 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that The Ensign Group will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at The Ensign Group

In other news, Director Daren Shaw sold 4,463 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.96, for a total transaction of $530,918.48. Following the transaction, the director now owns 32,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,836,460. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Daren Shaw sold 4,463 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.96, for a total transaction of $530,918.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,836,460. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 10,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.56, for a total value of $1,269,648.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 147,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,328,344. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 89,245 shares of company stock valued at $10,579,862. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Ensign Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in The Ensign Group by 43.3% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in The Ensign Group by 1,126.8% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in The Ensign Group by 333.1% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.