The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded The Ensign Group from a buy to a hold rating, though the broader analyst view remains moderately positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.75.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.85 per share, beating estimates, while revenue rose 18.4% year over year to $1.39 billion.
• Insider selling and strong institutional ownership were also noted: directors sold shares in recent months, while hedge funds and other institutions own about 96.12% of the stock.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on ENSG. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $222.00 price objective (up from $206.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Truist Financial set a $215.00 price objective on shares of The Ensign Group and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of The Ensign Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, UBS Group set a $230.00 price objective on shares of The Ensign Group and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $216.75.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ENSG opened at $170.30 on Friday. The Ensign Group has a twelve month low of $134.79 and a twelve month high of $218.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a 50-day moving average of $184.82 and a 200-day moving average of $187.70. The firm has a market cap of $9.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.68.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.480-7.620 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Ensign Group will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions 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 dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.28, for a total transaction of $114,996.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 21,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,507,706.56. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John O. Agwunobi sold 392 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.97, for a total transaction of $78,388.24. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,858,721.15. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 2,592 shares of company stock valued at $478,246 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of The Ensign Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 156.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 159 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Monetary Solutions Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 55.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 172 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayban purchased a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 96.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Ensign Group Company Profile

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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