Teacher Retirement System of Texas Acquires 7,124 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,014 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,124 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.12% of The Ensign Group worth $9,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 7,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 23,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,134,000 after acquiring an additional 4,755 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in shares of The Ensign Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $690,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 38.8% in the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ENSG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Macquarie lifted their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Ensign Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Ensign Group news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.15, for a total transaction of $90,405.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 30,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,881,215.80. The trade was a 2.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 39,086 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.52, for a total transaction of $5,805,052.72. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 12,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,862,292.28. This represents a 75.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 43,186 shares of company stock valued at $6,345,115. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

Shares of The Ensign Group stock opened at $128.24 on Friday. 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 $7.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.82. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.27 and a fifty-two week high of $158.45.

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

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.