Dockside LLC Purchases Shares of 6,715 The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Key Points

• Dockside LLC disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in The Ensign Group, buying 6,715 shares worth about $1.17 million.
• Analysts remain mostly constructive on ENSG, with four Buy ratings and two Hold ratings, leaving the stock at a Moderate Buy consensus and a $216.75 price target.
• The company recently beat quarterly EPS estimates, but its stock has come under pressure amid investor investigations and short-seller-related compliance concerns tied to alleged billing and quality-rating issues.

Dockside LLC purchased a new stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 6,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,170,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group lifted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 1,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 172 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 412 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ENSG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of The Ensign Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $216.75.

Insider Transactions at The Ensign Group

In other news, Director John O. Agwunobi sold 392 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.97, for a total value of $78,388.24. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,295 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,721.15. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.65, for a total value of $137,655.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 22,152 shares in the company, valued at $4,356,190.80. This represents a 3.06% decrease in their position. 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 worth $478,246 in the last quarter. 4.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

ENSG stock opened at $149.37 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a one year low of $134.79 and a one year high of $218.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.73 billion, a PE ratio of 24.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $179.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $186.74.

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

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

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

The Ensign Group News Roundup

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

The Ensign Group Company 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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