Peterson Wealth Services Trims Stock Holdings in The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Peterson Wealth Services lowered its position in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 81.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,372 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,853 shares during the quarter. Peterson Wealth Services’ holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ENSG. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 33.4% during the second quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 45,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,090,000 after purchasing an additional 11,496 shares during the period. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. acquired a new position in The Ensign Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $970,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in The Ensign Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $594,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 378.6% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 22,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,861,000 after acquiring an additional 17,677 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 96.2% during the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,818,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,382,035 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ ENSG opened at $173.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.06, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $177.19 and a 200 day moving average of $173.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $118.73 and a twelve month high of $193.99.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 16.77% and a net margin of 6.80%.The Ensign Group’s quarterly revenue was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, January 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. This is an increase from The Ensign Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio is 4.65%.

Insider Transactions at The Ensign Group

In related news, VP Beverly B. Wittekind sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $360,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 32,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,900,220. The trade was a 5.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Spencer Burton sold 2,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $397,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 51,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,209,700. This represents a 4.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 49,934 shares of company stock worth $8,953,443 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ENSG. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $206.00 price target (up from $177.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Friday, November 14th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target (up from $205.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Stephens boosted their price objective on The Ensign Group from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Ensign Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $196.40.

The Ensign Group Company Profile

The Ensign Group, Inc is a diversified provider of post-acute healthcare services in the United States, operating a network of skilled nursing, assisted living, independent living, home health and hospice care centers. The company’s model emphasizes integrated care by employing multidisciplinary teams—including nursing staff, therapists and physicians—to deliver personalized rehabilitation and long-term care services for seniors and other patients recovering from injury, illness or surgery.

Through its owned and managed centers, The Ensign Group offers a broad spectrum of rehabilitation services such as physical, occupational and speech therapy.