Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Sells 43,880 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Key Points

• Fort Washington Investment Advisors cut its Ensign Group stake by 26.9% in the first quarter, selling 43,880 shares and leaving it with 119,251 shares valued at about $24.0 million.
• Ensign Group delivered solid quarterly results, reporting EPS of $1.85, which beat analyst estimates, while revenue rose 18.4% year over year to $1.39 billion. The company also provided FY 2026 EPS guidance of $7.48 to $7.62.
• The company continues to attract institutional interest, with 96.12% of shares held by institutions, though some analysts have been mixed; the stock currently carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average target price of $216.75.

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH decreased its position in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) by 26.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 119,251 shares of the company's stock after selling 43,880 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned approximately 0.21% of The Ensign Group worth $24,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 9,423 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,899,000 after buying an additional 618 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of The Ensign Group during the first quarter valued at $3,365,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 4.1% in the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 2,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 40.6% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,701 shares of the company's stock valued at $544,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 1.7% in the first quarter. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,085 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,846,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

ENSG stock opened at $163.05 on Monday. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $134.79 and a twelve month high of $218.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market cap of $9.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.68. The business's fifty day moving average is $171.64 and its 200-day moving average is $185.03.

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

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. The Ensign Group's payout ratio is presently 4.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ENSG. Weiss Ratings cut The Ensign Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of The Ensign Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Four investment 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 an average target price of $216.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.65, for a total value of $137,655.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 22,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,356,190.80. This represents a 3.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John O. Agwunobi sold 392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.97, for a total transaction of $78,388.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,295 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,721.15. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 have sold a total of 2,592 shares of company stock valued at $478,246 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.00% of the company's stock.

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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