Nuveen LLC Buys New Stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC purchased a new position of 250,610 shares in The Ensign Group valued at approximately $32.4 million, increasing its ownership to 0.44% as reported in Q1.
• The Ensign Group's stock experienced a slight increase of 0.1%, opening at $166.17, while analysts anticipate a 5.59 EPS for the current year.
• The company cut its quarterly dividend to $0.0625 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.2%, with a dividend payout ratio of 4.54%.

Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 250,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,429,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.44% of The Ensign Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in The Ensign Group by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 937,930 shares of the company's stock worth $124,613,000 after acquiring an additional 197,865 shares during the period. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. lifted its position in The Ensign Group by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 800,108 shares of the company's stock worth $103,534,000 after acquiring an additional 99,147 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its position in The Ensign Group by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 461,353 shares of the company's stock worth $61,295,000 after acquiring an additional 19,821 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in The Ensign Group by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 358,341 shares of the company's stock worth $46,369,000 after acquiring an additional 21,510 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in The Ensign Group by 14,683.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 338,252 shares of the company's stock worth $43,770,000 after acquiring an additional 335,964 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ENSG. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (up previously from $185.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on The Ensign Group from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Macquarie cut their price objective on The Ensign Group from $159.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.00.

The Ensign Group Trading Up 2.2%

NASDAQ:ENSG traded up $3.71 on Friday, reaching $172.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 56,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 427,295. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $118.73 and a 12-month high of $172.67. 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 firm has a market cap of $9.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $152.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.40.

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

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Ensign Group news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the director directly owned 27,852 shares in the company, valued at $4,274,724.96. This represents a 2.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Beverly B. Wittekind sold 4,719 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,995,245. The trade was a 10.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,798 shares of company stock worth $2,080,733 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

About The Ensign Group

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.