Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Has $26.16 Million Stock Position in The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 135,173.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 150,154 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 150,043 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $26,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ENSG. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 14,590 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in The Ensign Group by 150.3% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in The Ensign Group by 65.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during 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 valued at $8,583,000 after acquiring 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 valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Beverly B. Wittekind sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.23, for a total transaction of $105,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 32,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,891,129.17. This represents a 1.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.21, for a total transaction of $127,547.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 22,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,018,094.92. This represents a 3.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 3,242 shares of company stock valued at $648,724 over the last quarter. 4.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The Ensign Group Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of The Ensign Group stock opened at $175.89 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $194.34 and a 200-day moving average of $188.80. The stock has a market cap of $10.28 billion, a PE ratio of 28.65, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.73. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.79 and a 52-week high of $218.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.06. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.89% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. The Ensign Group’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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 6.79 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ENSG. UBS Group set a $230.00 target price on shares of The Ensign Group and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Truist Financial set a $215.00 target price on shares of The Ensign Group and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research cut shares of The Ensign Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of The Ensign Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.75.

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.