Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 95.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,626 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,231 shares during the period. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $1,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in The Ensign Group by 96.2% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,818,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $486,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,382,035 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of The Ensign Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $105,400,000. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Ensign Group in the 3rd quarter worth $78,840,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 195.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 513,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,688,000 after acquiring an additional 339,534 shares during the period. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP grew 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 worth $548,961,000 after acquiring an additional 199,983 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $222.00 price target (up from $206.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Truist Financial set a $215.00 price target on shares of The Ensign Group and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group set a $230.00 price objective on shares of The Ensign Group and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of The Ensign Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $204.60.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ENSG opened at $201.99 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $198.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.89. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $118.73 and a 52-week high of $218.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.70 billion, a PE ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.83.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 6.80%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.49 earnings per share. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.410-7.610 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio is 4.45%.

Insider Transactions at The Ensign Group

In other news, Director Daren Shaw sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.43, for a total transaction of $213,430.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 23,726 shares in the company, valued at $5,063,840.18. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Suzanne D. Snapper sold 4,573 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.11, for a total transaction of $896,811.03. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 272,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,516,261.79. This trade represents a 1.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 17,073 shares of company stock valued at $3,333,390. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

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.