The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $163.50.

Separately, Macquarie lowered their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $159.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Ensign Group

In other The Ensign Group news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.48, for a total transaction of $107,436.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 27,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,274,724.96. This represents a 2.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daren Shaw sold 1,999 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 24,926 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,625,985.22. This represents a 7.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,957 shares of company stock worth $1,660,526 over the last ninety days. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,825 shares of the company's stock valued at $754,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in The Ensign Group during the first quarter worth approximately $343,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in The Ensign Group by 39.0% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 467 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 19.8% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,806 shares of the company's stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 339.6% in the fourth quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 10,305 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,369,000 after buying an additional 7,961 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.12% of the company's stock.

The Ensign Group Trading Up 0.9%

ENSG opened at $150.18 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The Ensign Group has a 12 month low of $118.73 and a 12 month high of $158.45. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $145.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.48.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Ensign Group will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. The Ensign Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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