Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Position in The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 4.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,495 shares of the company’s stock after selling 182 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 80,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,632,000 after acquiring an additional 9,433 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in The Ensign Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in The Ensign Group by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 24,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in The Ensign Group by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,483,000 after purchasing an additional 15,868 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 101.9% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 3,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 1,766 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at The Ensign Group

In other news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.06, for a total transaction of $120,442.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 27,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,654,567.12. This represents a 2.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Suzanne D. Snapper sold 8,379 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.21, for a total transaction of $1,241,851.59. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 269,692 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,971,051.32. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,498 shares of company stock valued at $2,201,175. 3.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ENSG shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on The Ensign Group from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.67.

The Ensign Group Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of ENSG stock opened at $166.15 on Thursday. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $118.73 and a twelve month high of $174.98. The stock has a market cap of $9.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $157.41 and a 200 day moving average of $144.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.340-6.460 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is presently 4.54%.

The Ensign Group Profile

The Ensign Group, Inc provides skilled nursing, senior living, and rehabilitative services. It operates through two segments: Skilled Services and Standard Bearer. The company's Skilled Services segment engages in the operation of skilled nursing facilities and rehabilitation therapy services for patients with chronic conditions, prolonged illness, and the elderly; and offers nursing facilities including specialty care, such as on-site dialysis, ventilator care, cardiac, and pulmonary management, as well as standard services comprising room and board, special nutritional programs, social services, recreational activities, entertainment, and other services.