Barry M. Smith Sells 700 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) Stock

The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.43, for a total transaction of $93,401.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 30,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,116,582.36. The trade was a 2.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

ENSG stock traded down $2.44 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $130.06. 619,765 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 476,488. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.45 billion, a PE ratio of 31.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50-day moving average of $143.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.40. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $110.71 and a 52 week high of $158.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 5.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.19%. This is a positive change from The Ensign Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is 6.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ENSG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $163.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $167.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on The Ensign Group from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on The Ensign Group in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $175.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Ensign Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.83.

Institutional Trading of The Ensign Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 42.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,995,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,061,000 after buying an additional 593,779 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in The Ensign Group by 5.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,363,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,181,000 after buying an additional 66,314 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in The Ensign Group by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,322,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,577,000 after acquiring an additional 35,862 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 0.9% in the third quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 1,110,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,740,000 after buying an additional 10,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new position in shares of The Ensign Group during the third quarter worth approximately $151,827,000. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About The Ensign Group

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.