Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Buys Shares of 15,777 The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Key Points

• Rice Hall James & Associates acquired 15,777 shares of The Ensign Group during the second quarter, valued at approximately $2.53 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 96.12% of the stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.25, despite some recent downgrades to “Hold.”
• Ensign reported quarterly EPS of $1.92, exceeding estimates by $0.12, while revenue rose 16.7% year over year to $1.44 billion. Shares opened at $182.49, and the company recently paid a $0.065 quarterly dividend.

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC acquired a new position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 15,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,529,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 156.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 159 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in The Ensign Group during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Monetary Solutions Ltd purchased a new stake in The Ensign Group during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in The Ensign Group by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 172 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayban acquired a new position in The Ensign Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on ENSG. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of The Ensign Group from $202.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of The Ensign Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $228.00 target price on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut The Ensign Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $216.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Ensign Group

In other news, Director John O. Agwunobi sold 392 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total transaction of $67,055.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 9,503 shares in the company, valued at $1,625,583.18. This represents a 3.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.28, for a total value of $114,996.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 21,352 shares in the company, valued at $3,507,706.56. This trade represents a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 4.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

The Ensign Group Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of ENSG stock opened at $182.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.60, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.68. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $141.58 and a 1-year high of $218.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $169.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.31.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.12. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 16.75%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.59 earnings per share. The Ensign Group's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.750-7.850 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 6.93 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The Ensign Group's payout ratio is currently 4.08%.

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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