Voleon Capital Management LP Purchases New Holdings in The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Key Points

• Voleon Capital Management LP has acquired a new stake in The Ensign Group, purchasing 2,309 shares valued at approximately $299,000 in the first quarter.
• The Ensign Group reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.59, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.54, with a revenue of $1.23 billion, a year-on-year increase of 18.5%.
• The firm's dividend has been cut to $0.0625 per share, with a yield of just 0.1%, and the dividend payout ratio stands at 4.54%.

Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $299,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in The Ensign Group by 114.0% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 199 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in The Ensign Group in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its stake in The Ensign Group by 116.7% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 208 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in The Ensign Group in the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc bought a new position in The Ensign Group in the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 96.12% of the company's stock.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ENSG traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $168.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 54,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 420,706. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.73 and a 1 year high of $174.98. 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 stock has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.54, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.93. The business's fifty day moving average is $158.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.94.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.05. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.340-6.460 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. The Ensign Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 4.54%.

Insider Transactions at The Ensign Group

In other news, VP Beverly B. Wittekind sold 4,719 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $731,445.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 38,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,995,245. This represents a 10.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Suzanne D. Snapper sold 8,379 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.21, for a total transaction of $1,241,851.59. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 269,692 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,971,051.32. The trade was a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,498 shares of company stock valued at $2,201,175 in the last ninety days. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ENSG shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on The Ensign Group from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Stephens upped their price target on The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on The Ensign Group from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $172.67.

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.