GAMMA Investing LLC Has $43.77 Million Stock Holdings in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) by 14,683.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 338,252 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 335,964 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned about 0.59% of The Ensign Group worth $43,770,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ENSG. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,483 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,526,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 39.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,263 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 644 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama bought a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,193,000. Caitlin John LLC boosted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 15,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,058,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares during the period. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 4,998 shares of the company's stock valued at $664,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.12% of the company's stock.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ENSG traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $151.69. The stock had a trading volume of 241,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 446,440. The business's fifty day moving average is $135.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The company has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.68, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.03. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $117.41 and a twelve month high of $158.45.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during 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 Ensign Group's revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at The Ensign Group

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ENSG. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Macquarie reduced their price objective on The Ensign Group from $159.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $163.50.

The Ensign Group 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.