Baillie Gifford & Co. Purchases 1,750,645 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in The Ensign Group by 62.1%, purchasing 1,750,645 shares to hold 4,569,254 shares (about 7.89%) valued at roughly $795.96 million.
• The company beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.82 vs. $1.75), reported revenue up 20.2% year-over-year to $1.36 billion, and set FY 2026 guidance of $7.41–$7.61 EPS.
• Analysts show a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average price target of $204.60; the firm pays a small quarterly dividend ($0.065, ~0.1% yield) and institutions own about 96.12% of the shares.

Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) by 62.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,569,254 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,750,645 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned about 7.89% of The Ensign Group worth $795,964,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 732 shares of the company's stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 2,378 shares of the company's stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in The Ensign Group by 7.3% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 911 shares of the company's stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in The Ensign Group by 4.1% during the third quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the company's stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Trust Co grew its holdings in The Ensign Group by 0.9% during the third quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 8,446 shares of the company's stock worth $1,459,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.12% of the company's stock.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

Shares of ENSG opened at $199.02 on Monday. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a one year low of $118.73 and a one year high of $218.00. The company has a market cap of $11.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.81. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $204.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.64.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 16.76%. The company's revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.49 earnings per share. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.410-7.610 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other The Ensign Group news, Director Daren Shaw sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.43, for a total transaction of $213,430.00. Following the sale, the director owned 23,726 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,063,840.18. The trade was a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John O. Agwunobi sold 146 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.31, for a total transaction of $26,033.26. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,620,302.97. The trade was a 1.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,073 shares of company stock valued at $3,349,532. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ENSG. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $222.00 price objective (up from $206.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Monday, February 9th. Truist Financial set a $215.00 price target on The Ensign Group and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded 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 price target on The Ensign Group and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Zacks Research cut The Ensign Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.60.

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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