Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Makes New Investment in The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC acquired a new position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 15,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,529,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in The Ensign Group by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 161,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,956,000 after purchasing an additional 14,590 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 150.3% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 383 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 65.9% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 536 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 480,216.7% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 57,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,583,000 after buying an additional 57,626 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 26.1% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 421 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Ensign Group news, Director John O. Agwunobi sold 392 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total transaction of $67,055.52. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,503 shares in the company, valued at $1,625,583.18. The trade was a 3.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.28, for a total value of $114,996.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 21,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,507,706.56. The trade was a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 4.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

Shares of ENSG stock opened at $182.49 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $169.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.68. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $141.58 and a 12 month high of $218.00.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.12. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 16.75% and a net margin of 6.90%.The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.750-7.850 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ENSG shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on The Ensign Group from $202.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings cut The Ensign Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of The Ensign Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $228.00 price objective on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.25.

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.