Bessemer Group Inc. Buys 38,936 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) by 19.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 242,940 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 38,936 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned 0.42% of The Ensign Group worth $31,435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,497,137 shares of the company's stock valued at $464,630,000 after purchasing an additional 159,691 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in The Ensign Group by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,082,647 shares of the company's stock valued at $276,701,000 after buying an additional 86,676 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 937,930 shares of the company's stock worth $124,613,000 after buying an additional 197,865 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of The Ensign Group during the fourth quarter worth $90,747,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 557,717 shares of the company's stock worth $74,098,000 after buying an additional 42,184 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Macquarie cut their price objective on The Ensign Group from $159.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $163.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Beverly B. Wittekind sold 4,719 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was 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 now directly owns 38,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,995,245. This trade represents a 10.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Daren Shaw sold 1,999 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.47, for a total value of $290,794.53. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,625,985.22. The trade was a 7.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,257 shares of company stock worth $1,553,090. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Ensign Group Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:ENSG traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $153.35. 566,467 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 453,399. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.73 and a fifty-two week high of $158.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.99, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.24.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 16.90%. The Ensign Group's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current year.

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. The Ensign Group's payout ratio is 4.73%.

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.