The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised The Ensign Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. UBS Group set a $230.00 target price on The Ensign Group and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Truist Financial set a $215.00 target price on The Ensign Group and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $222.00 target price (up from $206.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.60.

The Ensign Group Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ ENSG traded up $4.12 during trading on Monday, reaching $204.51. The stock had a trading volume of 30,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 373,761. The Ensign Group has a fifty-two week low of $118.73 and a fifty-two week high of $218.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.42. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $202.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.93. The company has a market cap of $11.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.01, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.81.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 6.80%.The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.49 EPS. The Ensign Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.410-7.610 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Ensign Group will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is 4.45%.

Insider Activity at The Ensign Group

In other The Ensign Group news, Director Daren Shaw sold 1,000 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.43, for a total transaction of $213,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 23,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,063,840.18. The trade was a 4.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Beverly B. Wittekind sold 500 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.23, for a total value of $105,115.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 32,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,891,129.17. This trade represents a 1.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 17,073 shares of company stock worth $3,349,532 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of The Ensign Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ENSG. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 378.6% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 22,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,861,000 after purchasing an additional 17,677 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 96.2% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,818,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,382,035 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 260.5% in the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 29,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,015,000 after purchasing an additional 20,975 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,157,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 56,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,781,000 after purchasing an additional 8,056 shares during the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Ensign Group Company 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.