Peterson Wealth Services Raises Stock Holdings in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Peterson Wealth Services boosted its holdings in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,665 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 382 shares during the quarter. Peterson Wealth Services’ holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $1,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,538,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 4,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $664,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ENSG. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $175.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial cut their price objective 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. Macquarie increased their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.17.

Insider Activity at The Ensign Group

In related news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.48, for a total value of $96,936.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 30,752 shares in the company, valued at $4,258,536.96. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 39,086 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.52, for a total value of $5,805,052.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 12,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,862,292.28. This represents a 75.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,486 shares of company stock valued at $5,995,390. 3.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Ensign Group Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of ENSG opened at $129.23 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.81. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.27 and a 1 year high of $158.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.94.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.11). The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 17.07%. On average, equities analysts expect that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from The Ensign Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.19%. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.89%.

The Ensign Group Profile

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.