Beverly Wittekind Sells 500 Shares of The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) Stock

The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) VP Beverly Wittekind sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.23, for a total transaction of $105,115.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 32,779 shares in the company, valued at $6,891,129.17. The trade was a 1.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

The Ensign Group Stock Up 2.9%

NASDAQ ENSG opened at $210.64 on Friday. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.73 and a 1 year high of $216.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.20 billion, a PE ratio of 36.07, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The business’s 50-day moving average is $183.79 and its 200 day moving average is $178.17.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, January 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This is an increase from The Ensign Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is currently 4.45%.

Institutional Trading of The Ensign Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its holdings in The Ensign Group by 62.1% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,569,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $795,964,000 after buying an additional 1,750,645 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,558,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,961,000 after acquiring an additional 199,983 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 7.2% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,498,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,107,000 after purchasing an additional 49,117 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in The Ensign Group by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,332,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,124,000 after purchasing an additional 118,110 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $222.00 price target (up from $206.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Truist Financial set a $215.00 price target on shares of The Ensign Group and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of The Ensign Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.60.

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.