Insider Selling: The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) Director Sells 700 Shares of Stock

The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) Director Barry Smith sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.28, for a total transaction of $114,996.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 21,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,507,706.56. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

The Ensign Group Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ ENSG traded down $2.39 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $164.29. 643,277 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 424,821. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The company has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a PE ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $186.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.92. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.79 and a 52 week high of $218.00.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.89% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The Ensign Group’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.480-7.620 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current year.

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.23%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Ensign Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake 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 valued at $795,964,000 after buying an additional 1,750,645 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,558,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,961,000 after acquiring an additional 199,983 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,016,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $348,322,000 after acquiring an additional 136,260 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,498,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,107,000 after acquiring an additional 49,117 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,332,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,124,000 after acquiring an additional 118,110 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ENSG. UBS Group set a $230.00 price objective on The Ensign Group and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research lowered The Ensign Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded The Ensign Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $222.00 price objective (up from $206.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.75.

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.