First Trust Advisors LP Sells 22,931 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) by 26.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 63,013 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,931 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.11% of The Ensign Group worth $8,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in The Ensign Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 190.1% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 206 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in The Ensign Group by 150.6% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 208 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 38.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Institutional investors own 96.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ENSG. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Macquarie reduced their price target on shares of The Ensign Group from $159.00 to $156.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $163.50.

Insider Activity

In other The Ensign Group news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.15, for a total value of $90,405.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 30,052 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,881,215.80. This represents a 2.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 39,086 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.52, for a total value of $5,805,052.72. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 12,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,862,292.28. The trade was a 75.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,486 shares of company stock valued at $6,251,714 in the last 90 days. 3.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

ENSG traded up $4.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $132.32. The company had a trading volume of 493,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 431,295. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.27 and a twelve month high of $158.45. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $128.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.43. The company has a market capitalization of $7.63 billion, a PE ratio of 25.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.02. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 6.99%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. The firm'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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. The Ensign Group's payout ratio is 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.