Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Buys 46,910 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) by 36.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 176,957 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 46,910 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned about 0.31% of The Ensign Group worth $22,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,524 shares of the company's stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,731 shares of the company's stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. now owns 7,188 shares of the company's stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 38.8% during the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 354 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,384 shares of the company's stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

Shares of ENSG stock traded up $1.39 during trading on Monday, reaching $152.63. 292,747 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 450,453. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.78 billion, a PE ratio of 29.87, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.03. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $118.56 and a twelve month high of $158.45. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $138.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.51.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 6.99%. The firm's revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. The Ensign Group's payout ratio is presently 4.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Ensign Group news, Director Daren Shaw sold 1,999 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.47, for a total value of $290,794.53. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,926 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,625,985.22. This represents a 7.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Beverly B. Wittekind sold 3,539 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $530,850.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 39,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,881,350. The trade was a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.