The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) Shares Purchased by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) by 17.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,284 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,145 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $3,660,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 48.0% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 28,465 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,782,000 after buying an additional 9,230 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in The Ensign Group by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 67,180 shares of the company's stock worth $8,925,000 after acquiring an additional 4,082 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 336,831 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,751,000 after acquiring an additional 1,939 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,082,647 shares of the company's stock worth $276,701,000 after buying an additional 86,676 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 32,883 shares of the company's stock worth $4,369,000 after acquiring an additional 711 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 Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,274,724.96. The trade was a 2.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Suzanne D. Snapper sold 8,379 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.21, for a total value of $1,241,851.59. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 269,692 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,971,051.32. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,336 shares of company stock worth $2,902,377 in the last ninety days. 3.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ENSG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens raised their price objective on The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on The Ensign Group from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Macquarie dropped their target price on The Ensign Group from $159.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $167.67.

The Ensign Group Stock Up 0.1%

ENSG stock traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $158.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 336,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 433,789. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $118.73 and a 52-week high of $159.47. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.70, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.05. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 6.99%. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The Ensign Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.54%.

About The Ensign Group

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.