Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Sells 10,452 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors reduced its stake in The Ensign Group by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 10,452 shares and leaving it with 101,254 shares worth about $17.6 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with 96.12% of Ensign shares held by institutions. Several large investors, including Baillie Gifford and Norges Bank, also made notable additions to their positions.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.85 versus estimates of $1.79 and 18.4% year-over-year revenue growth, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.065 per share.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 101,254 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,452 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC owned 0.17% of The Ensign Group worth $17,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ENSG. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,569,254 shares of the company's stock valued at $795,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750,645 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in The Ensign Group during the fourth quarter valued at $134,660,000. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in The Ensign Group during the third quarter valued at $78,840,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in The Ensign Group by 195.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 513,328 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,688,000 after acquiring an additional 339,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in The Ensign Group by 6.0% during the second 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 in the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Ensign Group news, Director John O. Agwunobi sold 392 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 9,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,858,721.15. This trade represents a 4.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 Ensign Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.65, for a total transaction of $137,655.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,356,190.80. This represents a 3.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders sold a total of 2,592 shares of company stock valued at $478,246 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.00% of the company's stock.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ENSG opened at $149.37 on Monday. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.79 and a 52 week high of $218.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.33, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $186.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.06. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.89% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. The business's revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.480-7.620 EPS. On average, analysts expect that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. The Ensign Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.23%.

Key Stories Impacting The Ensign Group

Here are the key news stories impacting The Ensign Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: No meaningful positive company-specific catalyst was reported in the latest news flow.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple law firms announced or continued investigations into possible securities-law violations and are urging investors who lost money in ENSG to contact them about potential claims. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Another shareholder law firm said it is investigating ENSG after allegations that the company may have issued materially misleading business information. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A report attributed to Muddy Waters raised compliance concerns, and the stock dropped sharply on the news, with allegations that Ensign may have gamed CMS quality ratings and engaged in improper billing practices. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ENSG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research cut shares of The Ensign Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of The Ensign Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $216.75.

The Ensign Group 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.

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