Citigroup Inc. Acquires 8,056 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 16.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,612 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,056 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.10% of The Ensign Group worth $9,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 96.2% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,818,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,382,035 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in The Ensign Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $105,400,000. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 6.0% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,558,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,961,000 after buying an additional 199,983 shares during the period. Hood River Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 61.4% during the second quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 492,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,898,000 after acquiring an additional 187,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 31.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 614,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,851,000 after acquiring an additional 146,302 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ENSG opened at $214.17 on Friday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $187.39 and a 200-day moving average of $180.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.67, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.88. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.73 and a fifty-two week high of $216.92.

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

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.54, for a total value of $120,078.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 23,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,040,110.08. This trade represents a 2.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Daren Shaw sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.43, for a total transaction of $213,430.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 23,726 shares in the company, valued at $5,063,840.18. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 27,473 shares of company stock valued at $5,147,297. 3.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ENSG. Wall Street Zen raised shares of The Ensign Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. UBS Group set a $230.00 price objective on The Ensign Group and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Truist Financial set a $215.00 target price on The Ensign Group and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on The Ensign Group from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Ensign Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.60.

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.