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

The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $124.60.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ENSG. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th.

The Ensign Group Trading Up 0.3 %

The Ensign Group stock opened at $119.41 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $118.72 and a 200-day moving average of $117.72. The Ensign Group has a one year low of $88.79 and a one year high of $127.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The company has a market cap of $6.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.99.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 5.67% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that The Ensign Group will post 4.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.20%. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Ensign Group news, Director Ann Scott Blouin sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.47, for a total transaction of $40,764.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,002 shares in the company, valued at $2,329,632.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Beverly B. Wittekind sold 10,000 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.65, for a total value of $1,216,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 37,912 shares in the company, valued at $4,611,994.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ann Scott Blouin sold 350 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.47, for a total transaction of $40,764.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,329,632.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,813 shares of company stock worth $2,024,703 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ENSG. Norges Bank bought a new position in The Ensign Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,050,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in The Ensign Group by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,621,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $743,042,000 after acquiring an additional 310,182 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in The Ensign Group by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,620,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,031,000 after acquiring an additional 221,838 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in The Ensign Group by 25.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 725,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,379,000 after acquiring an additional 147,698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. bought a new position in The Ensign Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $13,578,000. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.