World Investment Advisors Acquires New Position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

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

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Forum Financial Management LP grew its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,524 shares of the company's stock valued at $202,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,825 shares of the company's stock valued at $754,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 38.8% during the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 354 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 1.9% during 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. Finally, Intrust Bank NA grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Transactions at The Ensign Group

In other news, VP Beverly B. Wittekind sold 4,719 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $731,445.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 38,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,995,245. This represents a 10.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.48, for a total value of $107,436.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 27,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,274,724.96. This represents a 2.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,336 shares of company stock valued at $2,902,377 over the last quarter. 3.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

The Ensign Group Trading Down 0.7%

ENSG stock opened at $145.73 on Friday. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.73 and a 1-year high of $158.45. 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 $8.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.55, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.87.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 16.90% and a net margin of 6.99%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. Research 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 will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 4.73%.

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.

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