Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Takes $707,000 Position in The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 4,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $707,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,569,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $795,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750,645 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 6.0% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,558,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $548,961,000 after purchasing an additional 199,983 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 7.2% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,016,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $348,322,000 after purchasing an additional 136,260 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 0.8% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,085,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,516,000 after purchasing an additional 8,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 0.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 522,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,305,000 after purchasing an additional 4,206 shares during the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John O. Agwunobi sold 392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.97, for a total value of $78,388.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,721.15. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.21, for a total transaction of $127,547.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 22,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,018,094.92. This represents a 3.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,242 shares of company stock worth $862,154. Company insiders own 4.00% of the company’s stock.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:ENSG opened at $177.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market cap of $10.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $195.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $188.90. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $134.79 and a 1-year high of $218.00.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.89% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.480-7.620 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 6.79 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ENSG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of The Ensign Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $222.00 target price (up from $206.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Monday, February 9th. Zacks Research cut shares of The Ensign Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $215.00 price target on shares of The Ensign Group and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.75.

About The Ensign Group

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.