Petrus Trust Company LTA Buys New Shares in The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Key Points

• Petrus Trust Company LTA recently acquired a new stake in The Ensign Group, purchasing 5,042 shares valued at approximately $652,000.
• Several institutional investors increased their holdings in The Ensign Group, with Graham Capital Management L.P. boosting its stake by 65.7% during the same quarter.
• The company reported a net margin of 6.99% and revenue of $1.23 billion, reflecting an 18.5% increase from the previous year, while surpassing analyst estimates.

Petrus Trust Company LTA bought a new stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 5,042 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $652,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ENSG. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 80,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,632,000 after purchasing an additional 9,433 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. BOKF NA boosted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. BOKF NA now owns 3,605 shares of the company's stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 24,139 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Finally, Crestline Management LP boosted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 1,944 shares of the company's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ENSG shares. Stephens upped their target price 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on The Ensign Group from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on The Ensign Group from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $172.67.

Insider Transactions at The Ensign Group

In other news, CFO Suzanne D. Snapper sold 8,379 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.21, for a total transaction of $1,241,851.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 269,692 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,971,051.32. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.06, for a total value of $120,442.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 27,052 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,654,567.12. This trade represents a 2.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 14,498 shares of company stock valued at $2,201,175. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

The Ensign Group stock traded down $2.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $166.56. 81,178 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 422,062. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $118.73 and a twelve month high of $174.98. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $157.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market cap of $9.61 billion, a PE ratio of 30.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.93.

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

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. The Ensign Group's dividend payout ratio is 4.54%.

The Ensign Group 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.