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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded The Ensign Group from buy to hold, adding to a recent wave of more cautious analyst sentiment on the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, the broader analyst consensus remains Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $213.50 and several firms still rating the shares positively.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected earnings of $1.85 per share on $1.39 billion in revenue, and the stock was up 3.3% to $172.99 in Friday trading.

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

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on ENSG. Zacks Research cut shares of The Ensign Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered The Ensign Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on The Ensign Group from $215.00 to $202.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $213.50.

The Ensign Group Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of ENSG stock opened at $172.99 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $165.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $183.85. The stock has a market cap of $10.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.69. The Ensign Group has a one year low of $141.58 and a one year high of $218.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.56.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. The firm's revenue 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 predict that The Ensign Group will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.28, for a total value of $114,996.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,352 shares in the company, valued at $3,507,706.56. The trade was a 3.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 4.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Ensign Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ENSG. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 52.5% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 54,336 shares of the company's stock worth $9,465,000 after purchasing an additional 18,699 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in shares of The Ensign Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,508,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 70.2% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 38,029 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,625,000 after purchasing an additional 15,683 shares during the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 163,131 shares of the company's stock worth $28,417,000 after buying an additional 12,602 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 129,756 shares of the company's stock worth $22,567,000 after buying an additional 16,853 shares during the period. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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