Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 49,117 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,498,673 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 49,117 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $261,107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in The Ensign Group by 156.5% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 159 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in The Ensign Group by 125.6% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 76.9% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of The Ensign Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in shares of The Ensign Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

The Ensign Group Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ ENSG opened at $165.70 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $187.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.09. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $134.79 and a fifty-two week high of $218.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.68. 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 Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.480-7.620 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 6.79 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.21, for a total value of $127,547.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 22,052 shares in the company, valued at $4,018,094.92. This trade represents a 3.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John O. Agwunobi sold 392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.97, for a total transaction of $78,388.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,295 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,721.15. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 1,892 shares of company stock worth $363,250 over the last quarter. 4.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.