Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Invests $211,000 in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of The Ensign Group during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new stake in The Ensign Group during the third quarter worth approximately $113,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its stake in The Ensign Group by 29.6% during the third quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in The Ensign Group by 9.2% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in The Ensign Group by 42.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,058 shares of the company’s stock worth $191,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the period. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ENSG shares. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on The Ensign Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, The Ensign Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.60.

The Ensign Group Stock Up 0.0 %

ENSG stock opened at $118.64 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.28, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.94. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.14 and a fifty-two week high of $127.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $122.02 and a 200-day moving average of $113.29.

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

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.20%. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Ensign Group news, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 10,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 147,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,328,344. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 57,982 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 155,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,380,739.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 10,800 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now owns 147,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,328,344. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 89,245 shares of company stock worth $10,579,862 in the last quarter. 3.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.