The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP cut its stake in The Ensign Group by 20.8%, selling 90,735 shares and leaving it with 344,566 shares (about 0.59% of the company) worth roughly $59.53 million.
• Institutional ownership is very high at 96.12%; notable moves include Baillie Gifford adding 1,382,035 shares (now 2,818,609 shares, ~$486.97M), while insiders sold 27,473 shares worth $5.17 million last quarter and now hold 3.90%.
• Analyst sentiment is positive with an average rating of Buy and a $204.60 average price target; Ensign recently beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.82 vs. $1.75), set FY2026 guidance of 7.410–7.610 EPS, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.065.

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 344,566 shares of the company's stock after selling 90,735 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.59% of The Ensign Group worth $59,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 33.4% in the second quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 45,962 shares of the company's stock worth $7,090,000 after acquiring an additional 11,496 shares during the last quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. purchased a new stake in The Ensign Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $970,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in The Ensign Group by 378.6% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 22,346 shares of the company's stock worth $3,861,000 after purchasing an additional 17,677 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in The Ensign Group by 96.2% during the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,818,609 shares of the company's stock worth $486,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,382,035 shares during the period. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. raised its stake in The Ensign Group by 260.5% during the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 29,026 shares of the company's stock worth $5,015,000 after purchasing an additional 20,975 shares during the period. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ENSG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $222.00 price target (up from $206.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen raised The Ensign Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Truist Financial set a $215.00 target price on The Ensign Group and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised The Ensign Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $204.60.

The Ensign Group Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ ENSG opened at $209.65 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.90, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.42. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a one year low of $118.73 and a one year high of $218.00. The company's 50 day moving average price is $192.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $182.23.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 16.76%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.49 earnings per share. The Ensign Group's revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.410-7.610 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, January 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. This is an increase from The Ensign Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The Ensign Group's payout ratio is currently 4.45%.

Insider Transactions at The Ensign Group

In other The Ensign Group news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $149,114.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,867,933.04. This trade represents a 2.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Beverly B. Wittekind sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.23, for a total value of $105,115.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 32,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,891,129.17. This represents a 1.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 27,473 shares of company stock worth $5,167,422 in the last quarter. 3.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Ensign Group Company Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ENSG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.