Guggenheim Capital LLC Invests $389,000 in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Guggenheim Capital LLC bought a new position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG – Get Rating) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 4,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $389,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in The Ensign Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 96.3% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in 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 period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new position in The Ensign Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The Ensign Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at The Ensign Group

In other news, CFO Suzanne D. Snapper sold 16,991 shares of the business’s 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Lee A. Daniels sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.20, for a total value of $190,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 47,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,522,380.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Suzanne D. Snapper sold 16,991 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 210,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,232,384. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 19,253 shares of company stock valued at $1,846,841. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on The Ensign Group from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Ensign Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.60.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

Shares of ENSG stock opened at $87.59 on Monday. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $70.29 and a twelve month high of $99.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.05. 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 Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.08. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 7.43%. The business had revenue of $809.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $802.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, December 31st were given a $0.058 dividend. This represents a $0.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.26%. This is a positive change from The Ensign Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 29th. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is presently 5.82%.

About The Ensign Group

(Get Rating)

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.