Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases Shares of 16,700 The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in The Ensign Group, buying 16,700 shares valued at about $3.37 million in the first quarter.
• The Ensign Group reported Q1 earnings of $1.85 per share, topping estimates, while revenue rose 18.4% year over year to $1.39 billion. The company also reiterated full-year guidance and set FY2026 EPS guidance at 7.48-7.62.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.065 per share payable July 31, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $216.75.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 16,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,365,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ENSG. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 52.5% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 54,336 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,465,000 after buying an additional 18,699 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in The Ensign Group in the 4th quarter valued at $1,508,000. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 56,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,781,000 after acquiring an additional 8,056 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 331,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,290,000 after acquiring an additional 7,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 498,529 shares of the company's stock worth $86,131,000 after acquiring an additional 18,623 shares during the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

ENSG opened at $163.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.56, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $171.64 and a 200 day moving average of $184.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $134.79 and a fifty-two week high of $218.00.

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

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of The Ensign Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, June 14th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of The Ensign Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded The Ensign Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $216.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Ensign Group news, Director John O. Agwunobi sold 392 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.97, for a total value of $78,388.24. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,295 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,721.15. The trade was a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.28, for a total value of $114,996.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 21,352 shares in the company, valued at $3,507,706.56. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 2,592 shares of company stock valued at $478,246 over the last three months. Company insiders own 4.00% of the company's stock.

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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