Zacks Research Expects Higher Earnings for The Ensign Group

The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research boosted their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for The Ensign Group in a research note issued on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $1.65 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.64. Zacks Research has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for The Ensign Group’s current full-year earnings is $5.59 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for The Ensign Group’s FY2026 earnings at $6.79 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.61 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $7.00 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $7.89 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on ENSG. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $222.00 price objective (up from $206.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Monday, February 9th. Truist Financial set a $215.00 target price on The Ensign Group and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note 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. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on The Ensign Group from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, The Ensign Group has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $204.60.

The Ensign Group Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:ENSG opened at $214.17 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market cap of $12.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.83. The Ensign Group has a 12 month low of $118.73 and a 12 month high of $216.92. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $187.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.11.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Ensign Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its position in 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 buying an additional 11,496 shares in the last quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. bought a new position in The Ensign Group in the second quarter valued at about $970,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 17,677 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 96.2% during the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,818,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $486,971,000 after buying an additional 1,382,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. increased its holdings in The Ensign Group by 260.5% in the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 29,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,015,000 after purchasing an additional 20,975 shares in the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Suzanne D. Snapper sold 8,258 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.48, for a total transaction of $1,606,015.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 277,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,960,809.76. This represents a 2.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John O. Agwunobi sold 246 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.82, for a total transaction of $44,235.72. Following the sale, the director owned 9,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,660,278.06. The trade was a 2.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 26,773 shares of company stock worth $5,018,308 in the last three months. 3.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 payout ratio is presently 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.