The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $204.60.

ENSG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial set a $215.00 target price on The Ensign Group and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded The Ensign Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group set a $230.00 target price on shares of The Ensign Group and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $222.00 price target (up from $206.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Monday, February 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Ensign Group news, VP Beverly B. Wittekind sold 8,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.48, for a total transaction of $1,474,032.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 32,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,752,058.92. This represents a 20.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.59, for a total value of $121,513.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 23,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,105,750.68. The trade was a 2.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 27,473 shares of company stock worth $5,147,297 in the last ninety days. 3.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Ensign Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ENSG. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,569,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $795,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750,645 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,558,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $548,961,000 after purchasing an additional 199,983 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,016,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $348,322,000 after buying an additional 136,260 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,498,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,107,000 after buying an additional 49,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,332,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,124,000 after buying an additional 118,110 shares during the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Ensign Group Stock Up 2.9%

ENSG stock opened at $210.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.88. The Ensign Group has a 12 month low of $118.73 and a 12 month high of $216.92. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $183.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 16.76%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.410-7.610 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Ensign Group will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.065 per share. This is a boost from The Ensign Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is 4.45%.

About The Ensign Group

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.