Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Has $26.16 Million Stock Position in The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. dramatically increased its Ensign Group stake in Q4, ending with 150,154 shares worth about $26.2 million and roughly 0.26% ownership.
• The Ensign Group reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $1.85 on April 30, beating estimates by $0.06, while revenue rose 18.4% year over year to $1.39 billion.
• Analysts remain generally positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $216.75, even as some insiders recently sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) by 135,173.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 150,154 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 150,043 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned approximately 0.26% of The Ensign Group worth $26,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,569,254 shares of the company's stock valued at $795,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750,645 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $78,840,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 195.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 513,328 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,688,000 after purchasing an additional 339,534 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 6.0% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,558,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $548,961,000 after purchasing an additional 199,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 7.2% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,016,101 shares of the company's stock valued at $348,322,000 after purchasing an additional 136,260 shares during the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at The Ensign Group

In other The Ensign Group news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.21, for a total transaction of $127,547.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,052 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,018,094.92. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Beverly B. Wittekind sold 500 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.23, for a total transaction of $105,115.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 32,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,891,129.17. This trade represents a 1.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,242 shares of company stock valued at $648,724. 4.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of The Ensign Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Truist Financial set a $215.00 price objective on shares of The Ensign Group and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of The Ensign Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $222.00 target price (up from $206.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Ensign Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $216.75.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:ENSG opened at $175.89 on Wednesday. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $134.79 and a 1-year high of $218.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.28 billion, a PE ratio of 28.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.73.

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 the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. The firm's 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 6.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The Ensign Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.23%.

About The Ensign Group

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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