Barry Smith Sells 700 Shares of The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) Stock

The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) Director Barry Smith sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.21, for a total value of $127,547.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,052 shares in the company, valued at $4,018,094.92. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

ENSG opened at $174.30 on Friday. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $134.68 and a 12-month high of $218.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $200.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $189.33. The company has a market capitalization of $10.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.39, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.73.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.06. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 6.89%.The business had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.480-7.620 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Ensign Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ENSG. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in The Ensign Group by 378.6% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 22,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,861,000 after buying an additional 17,677 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in The Ensign Group by 96.2% in the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,818,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,971,000 after buying an additional 1,382,035 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. raised its stake in The Ensign Group by 260.5% in the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 29,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,015,000 after buying an additional 20,975 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new stake in The Ensign Group in the third quarter valued at about $6,157,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in The Ensign Group by 16.6% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 56,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,781,000 after buying an additional 8,056 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.