The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) Director Barry Smith Sells 700 Shares

Key Points

• Director Barry Smith sold 700 shares on May 4 at an average price of $182.21 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, cutting his stake by 3.08% to 22,052 shares valued at about $4.02M (SEC filing).
• The Ensign Group beat quarterly EPS estimates with $1.85 (vs. $1.79 consensus) on $1.39B in revenue (+18.4% YoY) and set FY2026 guidance of $7.480–$7.620 EPS.
• Wall Street's consensus is a Moderate Buy with a $216.75 average target, and institutional investors own 96.12% of the company, including a large stake increase by Baillie Gifford.

The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) Director Barry Smith sold 700 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.21, for a total transaction of $127,547.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,052 shares in the company, valued at $4,018,094.92. This trade represents a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

The Ensign Group Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of The Ensign Group stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $175.93. The stock had a trading volume of 653,448 shares, compared to its average volume of 389,532. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $201.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $189.41. The firm has a market cap of $10.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $133.81 and a 12-month high of $218.00.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.06. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.89% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The firm had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.480-7.620 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current year.

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. The Ensign Group's dividend payout ratio is 4.23%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ENSG. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,569,254 shares of the company's stock valued at $795,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750,645 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of The Ensign Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $134,660,000. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Ensign Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $78,840,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 195.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 513,328 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,688,000 after purchasing an additional 339,534 shares during the period. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 6.0% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,558,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $548,961,000 after purchasing an additional 199,983 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ENSG. Truist Financial set a $215.00 price objective on The Ensign Group and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $222.00 target price (up from $206.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group set a $230.00 target price on shares of The Ensign Group and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of The Ensign Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $216.75.

About The Ensign Group

The Ensign Group, Inc is a diversified provider of post-acute healthcare services in the United States, operating a network of skilled nursing, assisted living, independent living, home health and hospice care centers. The company's model emphasizes integrated care by employing multidisciplinary teams—including nursing staff, therapists and physicians—to deliver personalized rehabilitation and long-term care services for seniors and other patients recovering from injury, illness or surgery.

Through its owned and managed centers, The Ensign Group offers a broad spectrum of rehabilitation services such as physical, occupational and speech therapy.

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