Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Raises Stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Key Points

• Mawer Investment Management increased its stake in The Ensign Group by 15.8% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 126,186 shares valued at about $22 million. Overall, institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.
• Analysts remain constructive on ENSG, with four Buy ratings and two Hold ratings leading to a Moderate Buy consensus and a target price of $216.75. Recent calls included upgrades and higher price targets from firms such as RBC and UBS.
• The Ensign Group posted solid quarterly results, earning $1.85 per share versus estimates of $1.79 and boosting revenue 18.4% year over year to $1.39 billion. The company also raised its FY2026 EPS guidance to 7.48–7.62 and paid a small quarterly dividend of $0.065 per share.

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) by 15.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 126,186 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 17,225 shares during the quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.22% of The Ensign Group worth $21,982,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Equitable Trust Co. raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 260.5% during the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 29,026 shares of the company's stock worth $5,015,000 after purchasing an additional 20,975 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 16.6% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 56,612 shares of the company's stock worth $9,781,000 after purchasing an additional 8,056 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in The Ensign Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,508,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its holdings in 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 worth $9,465,000 after purchasing an additional 18,699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 2.3% during the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 331,596 shares of the company's stock worth $57,290,000 after purchasing an additional 7,495 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ENSG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of The Ensign Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial set a $215.00 price objective on shares of The Ensign Group and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $222.00 price objective (up from $206.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, UBS Group set a $230.00 price objective on shares of The Ensign Group and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $216.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John O. Agwunobi sold 392 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.97, for a total value of $78,388.24. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,295 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,721.15. This trade represents a 4.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 Ensign Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.65, for a total transaction of $137,655.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 22,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,356,190.80. This trade represents a 3.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,892 shares of company stock worth $363,250. 4.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ENSG opened at $165.00 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $187.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $188.09. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $134.79 and a 1-year high of $218.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market cap of $9.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.68.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. The Ensign Group'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, sell-side analysts expect that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 6.79 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. The Ensign Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.23%.

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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