Fred Alger Management LLC Sells 1,614 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Fred Alger Management LLC decreased its position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 40.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,360 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,614 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in The Ensign Group by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 8,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $754,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 36,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,727,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in The Ensign Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $343,000. Institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ENSG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.06, for a total transaction of $120,442.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 27,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,654,567.12. This represents a 2.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Suzanne D. Snapper sold 8,379 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.21, for a total transaction of $1,241,851.59. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 269,692 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,971,051.32. The trade was a 3.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,498 shares of company stock valued at $2,201,175 in the last quarter. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

NASDAQ ENSG opened at $166.15 on Thursday. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.73 and a 52 week high of $174.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.15, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $157.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $144.28.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.05. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.32 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.340-6.460 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current year.

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.54%.

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.