MQS Management LLC Buys Shares of 2,096 The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,096 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $271,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 17.9% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 585 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 1.3% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 16,000 shares of the company's stock worth $2,070,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Laurus Global Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 11.8% during the first quarter. Laurus Global Equity Management Inc. now owns 22,560 shares of the company's stock worth $2,919,000 after purchasing an additional 2,390 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 1.3% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,059 shares of the company's stock worth $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 0.7% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 13,600 shares of the company's stock worth $1,760,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Macquarie decreased their price target on The Ensign Group from $159.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Ensign Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $163.50.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

The Ensign Group stock traded down $1.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $137.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 115,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 418,083. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.73 and a fifty-two week high of $158.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $148.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.91 billion, a PE ratio of 26.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.03.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last released 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 Ensign Group had a return on equity of 16.90% and a net margin of 6.99%. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. The Ensign Group's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current year.

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. The Ensign Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.48, for a total transaction of $107,436.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 27,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,274,724.96. The trade was a 2.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Suzanne D. Snapper sold 8,379 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 269,692 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,971,051.32. This trade represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,336 shares of company stock worth $2,902,377 in the last ninety days. 3.90% of the stock is owned by 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.