The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG is Wasatch Advisors LP’s 2nd Largest Position

Wasatch Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,278,324 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 220,329 shares during the quarter. The Ensign Group makes up about 2.4% of Wasatch Advisors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Wasatch Advisors LP owned approximately 3.90% of The Ensign Group worth $365,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ENSG. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in The Ensign Group by 9.9% during the first 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. raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 150.3% in 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 raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 65.9% in 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 lifted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 480,216.7% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 57,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,583,000 after buying an additional 57,626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 26.1% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John O. Agwunobi sold 392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total value of $67,055.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,503 shares in the company, valued at $1,625,583.18. This trade represents a 3.96% 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 Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.28, for a total value of $114,996.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,507,706.56. This trade represents a 3.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 4.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ENSG shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of The Ensign Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research 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 note on Saturday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $228.00 price target on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on The Ensign Group from $202.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, The Ensign Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.25.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

Shares of ENSG stock opened at $180.20 on Wednesday. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.58 and a fifty-two week high of $218.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.24, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $167.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.05.

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

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

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

The Ensign Group Company 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.