The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG Shares Bought by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

Error: Response status code does not indicate success: 429 (Too Many Requests).

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) by 1,235.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 468,575 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 433,489 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.82% of The Ensign Group worth $60,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in The Ensign Group by 23.2% during 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 during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position 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 worth $754,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in The Ensign Group by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,506 shares of the company's stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its position 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 worth $4,727,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group in the 1st quarter valued at $343,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% of the company's stock.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

Shares of ENSG traded up $3.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $172.44. The stock had a trading volume of 585,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 441,168. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $152.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.56. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.73 and a fifty-two week high of $173.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.30, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.02.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (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 analysts' expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.32 EPS. The business's revenue 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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. The Ensign Group's payout ratio is currently 4.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ENSG. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Macquarie dropped their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $159.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (up from $185.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $171.00.

Insider Activity at The Ensign Group

In related news, VP Beverly B. Wittekind sold 4,719 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $731,445.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 38,679 shares in the company, valued at $5,995,245. The trade was a 10.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.48, for a total transaction of $107,436.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 27,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,274,724.96. This represents a 2.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,798 shares of company stock worth $2,080,733 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

The Ensign Group Company 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.