Royal Bank of Canada Sells 46,228 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Key Points

• The Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. by 36.1% during the first quarter, resulting in ownership of 81,719 shares valued at $10,573,000.
• Analysts have increased price targets for The Ensign Group, with estimates ranging from $165.00 to $205.00, and an average rating of "Moderate Buy".
• The Ensign Group reported a net revenue increase of 18.5% year-over-year, reaching $1.23 billion, and beat EPS expectations by $0.05 for their last earnings report.

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) by 36.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 81,719 shares of the company's stock after selling 46,228 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.14% of The Ensign Group worth $10,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ENSG. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 9,433 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in The Ensign Group by 48.2% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,795 shares of the company's stock worth $6,483,000 after purchasing an additional 15,868 shares during the period. Finally, Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in The Ensign Group by 101.9% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 3,499 shares of the company's stock worth $465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766 shares during the period. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on ENSG. Stephens raised their target price on The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group raised their target price on The Ensign Group from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Ensign Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $172.67.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

ENSG stock traded up $1.60 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $165.94. 541,699 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 321,329. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $159.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.48. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $118.73 and a 12 month high of $174.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.12, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.93.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.340-6.460 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 (DPR) is 4.54%.

Insider Transactions at The Ensign Group

In other news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.06, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Suzanne D. Snapper sold 8,379 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.21, for a total value of $1,241,851.59. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 269,692 shares in the company, valued at $39,971,051.32. This trade represents a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,779 shares of company stock worth $1,469,730 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

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.