The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) Receives $119.20 Average PT from Analysts

The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $119.20.

Several analysts have weighed in on ENSG shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on The Ensign Group from $112.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of The Ensign Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

Shares of The Ensign Group stock opened at $118.26 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.63. The Ensign Group has a fifty-two week low of $87.14 and a fifty-two week high of $127.57. The firm has a market cap of $6.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.94.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17. The firm had revenue of $980.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $975.13 million. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.84% and a net margin of 5.61%. Sell-side analysts predict that The Ensign Group will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 31st will be given a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.20%. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio is 6.56%.

Insider Activity at The Ensign Group

In other The Ensign Group news, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 10,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.56, for a total value of $1,269,648.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 147,400 shares in the company, valued at $17,328,344. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Daren Shaw sold 4,463 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.96, for a total value of $530,918.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,836,460. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 10,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.56, for a total transaction of $1,269,648.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 147,400 shares in the company, valued at $17,328,344. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 89,245 shares of company stock worth $10,579,862. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ENSG. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in The Ensign Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,050,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,621,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $743,042,000 after purchasing an additional 310,182 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 4.7% in the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors Inc. now owns 6,409,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $576,893,000 after purchasing an additional 288,585 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,620,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,031,000 after purchasing an additional 221,838 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 25.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 725,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,379,000 after purchasing an additional 147,698 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

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.