Zacks Research Issues Positive Outlook for ENSG Earnings

The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research lifted their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for The Ensign Group in a research report issued on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the company will post earnings of $1.65 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.64. Zacks Research has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for The Ensign Group’s current full-year earnings is $5.59 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for The Ensign Group’s FY2026 earnings at $6.79 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.61 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $7.00 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $7.89 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial set a $215.00 price target on shares of The Ensign Group and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group set a $230.00 target price on shares of The Ensign Group and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of The Ensign Group from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated 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 raised The Ensign Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $204.60.

The Ensign Group Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of ENSG opened at $213.13 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $12.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.49, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.83. The Ensign Group has a 12 month low of $118.73 and a 12 month high of $218.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $188.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 6.80%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.49 EPS. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.410-7.610 EPS.

Institutional Trading of The Ensign Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ENSG. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,569,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $795,964,000 after acquiring an additional 1,750,645 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of The Ensign Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $134,660,000. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Ensign Group during the 3rd quarter worth $78,840,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in The Ensign Group by 195.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 513,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,688,000 after buying an additional 339,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in The Ensign Group by 6.0% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,558,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,961,000 after purchasing an additional 199,983 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John O. Agwunobi sold 146 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.31, for a total transaction of $26,033.26. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 9,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,620,302.97. The trade was a 1.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $149,114.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,867,933.04. This represents a 2.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,473 shares of company stock worth $5,167,422. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.065 per share. This is a positive change from The Ensign Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.45%.

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.