Rhumbline Advisers Purchases 2,915 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 205,313 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,915 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.36% of The Ensign Group worth $26,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in The Ensign Group by 150.6% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 208 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of The Ensign Group during the first quarter valued at about $38,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 38.8% during the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 354 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group during the fourth quarter worth about $80,000. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council bought a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group in the fourth quarter worth about $104,000. Institutional investors own 96.12% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Ensign Group news, VP Beverly B. Wittekind sold 3,539 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $530,850.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 39,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,881,350. This represents a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Daren Shaw sold 1,999 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.47, for a total transaction of $290,794.53. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,926 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,625,985.22. This represents a 7.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Macquarie dropped their price objective on The Ensign Group from $159.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $163.50.

The Ensign Group Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of ENSG traded down $2.59 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $149.79. 412,833 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 448,125. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $117.41 and a 12 month high of $158.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company's fifty day moving average price is $136.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.32. The company has a market capitalization of $8.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.03.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.02. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 17.07%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. The Ensign Group's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. The Ensign Group's payout ratio is 4.73%.

The Ensign Group Company 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.