Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Sells 110,917 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD has sold 110,917 shares of The Ensign Group, reducing its stake by 15.9%, which now stands at 585,144 shares worth approximately $75.7 million.
• Several hedge funds have been increasing their positions in The Ensign Group, with 96.12% of the stock now owned by institutional investors.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with a consensus target price of $171.00 and five analysts rating it as a "Buy" while one assigned it a "Hold" rating.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD cut its stake in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) by 15.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 585,144 shares of the company's stock after selling 110,917 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 1.02% of The Ensign Group worth $75,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 8,298 shares of the company's stock worth $1,074,000 after buying an additional 1,564 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,825 shares of the company's stock worth $754,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,506 shares of the company's stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 36,529 shares of the company's stock worth $4,727,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in The Ensign Group during the 1st quarter worth about $343,000. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at The Ensign Group

In related news, CFO Suzanne D. Snapper sold 8,379 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 269,692 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,971,051.32. The trade was a 3.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Beverly B. Wittekind sold 4,719 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 38,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 sold 13,798 shares of company stock valued at $2,080,733 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Stephens lifted their target price on The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price (up from $185.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on The Ensign Group from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $171.00.

The Ensign Group Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:ENSG traded down $0.82 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $171.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 407,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 384,783. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.18, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.93. 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 50 day moving average price of $154.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.05. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.73 and a fifty-two week high of $173.62.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.32 EPS. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.340-6.460 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current year.

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

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

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.