World Investment Advisors Buys Shares of 2,516 The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

World Investment Advisors bought a new stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $326,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,524 shares of the company's stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 1.6% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,825 shares of the company's stock worth $754,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 38.8% in the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 354 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intrust Bank NA grew its stake in The Ensign Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 4,239 shares of the company's stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

The Ensign Group Stock Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:ENSG traded down $1.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $143.98. The stock had a trading volume of 220,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 443,140. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $8.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.03. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.73 and a 1-year high of $158.45. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $147.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.87.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 16.90% and a net margin of 6.99%. The business's revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The Ensign Group's payout ratio is currently 4.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Ensign Group

In other news, Director Daren Shaw sold 1,999 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.47, for a total transaction of $290,794.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 24,926 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,625,985.22. This represents a 7.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Suzanne D. Snapper sold 8,379 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.21, for a total value of $1,241,851.59. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 269,692 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,336 shares of company stock valued at $2,902,377. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

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.