The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) Receives $161.83 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $161.83.

ENSG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of The Ensign Group from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $167.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group initiated coverage on The Ensign Group in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $175.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on The Ensign Group from $163.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Ensign Group

In other news, CEO Barry Port sold 2,000 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $310,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,325,980. This trade represents a 3.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.43, for a total value of $93,401.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,852 shares in the company, valued at $4,116,582.36. This trade represents a 2.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new position in The Ensign Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $151,827,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in The Ensign Group by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,995,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,061,000 after acquiring an additional 593,779 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 54.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 649,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,449,000 after acquiring an additional 229,586 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Ensign Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $21,744,000. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in shares of The Ensign Group in the 3rd quarter worth $18,843,000. Institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

NASDAQ ENSG opened at $133.50 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $140.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.87. The Ensign Group has a twelve month low of $110.71 and a twelve month high of $158.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.65 billion, a PE ratio of 32.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 5.84%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The Ensign Group will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.19%. This is a positive change from The Ensign Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.05%.

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.