Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Reduces Holdings in The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 97.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,017 shares of the company’s stock after selling 76,068 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 8,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $754,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 36,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,727,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in The Ensign Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $343,000. 96.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Ensign Group

In other The Ensign Group news, CFO Suzanne D. Snapper sold 8,379 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.21, for a total transaction of $1,241,851.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 269,692 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,971,051.32. This trade represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.48, for a total transaction of $107,436.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 27,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,274,724.96. This represents a 2.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,798 shares of company stock worth $2,080,733. 3.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ENSG. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of The Ensign Group from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Macquarie lowered their price target on shares of The Ensign Group from $159.00 to $156.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target (up from $185.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.00.

The Ensign Group Stock Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:ENSG opened at $169.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $9.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.73 and a fifty-two week high of $169.97. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.22.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The Ensign Group’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.32 EPS. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.340-6.460 EPS. Analysts predict that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.54%.

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.