Kestra Investment Management LLC Raises Stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Key Points

• Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its position in The Ensign Group, Inc. by 186.8%, owning 5,269 shares valued at approximately $679,000.
• The Ensign Group reported $1.59 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding consensus estimates of $1.54, alongside an 18.5% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company recently reduced its dividend to $0.0625 per share, with a yield of 0.1% and a dividend payout ratio of 4.54%.

Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) by 186.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,269 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,432 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC's holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,524 shares of the company's stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. State of Wyoming increased its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 4.5% during the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,967 shares of the company's stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance LLC increased its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 4.6% during the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 1,971 shares of the company's stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 17.9% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 585 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 1.6% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,825 shares of the company's stock valued at $754,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ENSG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on The Ensign Group from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on The Ensign Group from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $172.67.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

Shares of ENSG stock traded down $0.96 during trading on Friday, hitting $167.99. The company had a trading volume of 214,153 shares, compared to its average volume of 333,743. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $158.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.93. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.73 and a 52 week high of $174.98.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.22 billion. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The Ensign Group's revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.32 earnings per share. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.340-6.460 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. The Ensign Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 4.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Ensign Group news, VP Beverly B. Wittekind sold 4,719 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $731,445.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 38,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,995,245. This represents a 10.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Suzanne D. Snapper sold 8,379 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 269,692 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,971,051.32. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,498 shares of company stock valued at $2,201,175 over the last quarter. 3.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Ensign Group Company 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.