Analysts Set The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) PT at $196.40

The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $196.40.

ENSG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial upped their price target 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. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up from $205.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $206.00 price target (up from $177.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Friday, November 14th. Stephens boosted their price target on The Ensign Group from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd.

Insider Transactions at The Ensign Group

In other news, Director John O. Agwunobi sold 146 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.31, for a total transaction of $26,033.26. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,620,302.97. This represents a 1.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Daren Shaw sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.57, for a total value of $178,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 24,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,179.82. This trade represents a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 50,634 shares of company stock valued at $9,079,891 in the last three months. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Ensign Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ENSG. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,569,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $795,964,000 after buying an additional 1,750,645 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in The Ensign Group during the 2nd quarter worth $105,400,000. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in The Ensign Group during the third quarter valued at about $78,840,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $88,688,000 after purchasing an additional 339,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 199,983 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

NASDAQ ENSG opened at $171.66 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $177.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $172.16. The Ensign Group has a 52-week low of $118.73 and a 52-week high of $193.99.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.05. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 16.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.480-6.540 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that The Ensign Group will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, January 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This is a boost from The Ensign Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.65%.

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.