Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 8,272 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,085,380 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,272 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.87% of The Ensign Group worth $187,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 6.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its position in The Ensign Group by 96.2% during the third 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in The Ensign Group by 1.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,437,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,741,000 after purchasing an additional 20,229 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in The Ensign Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $105,400,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 31.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 614,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,851,000 after purchasing an additional 146,302 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded The Ensign Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. 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. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $222.00 target price (up from $206.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial set a $215.00 price target on shares of The Ensign Group and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $204.60.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:ENSG opened at $207.23 on Monday. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $118.73 and a 12-month high of $218.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $190.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.69. 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 Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. On average, analysts anticipate that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. 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%. This is a boost from The Ensign Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio is 4.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Ensign Group

In related news, VP Beverly B. Wittekind sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.23, for a total value of $105,115.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 32,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,891,129.17. This represents a 1.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Suzanne D. Snapper sold 4,573 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.11, for a total transaction of $896,811.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 272,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,516,261.79. This represents a 1.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 27,473 shares of company stock worth $5,167,422 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

The Ensign Group Profile

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.