11,315 Shares in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) Purchased by UniSuper Management Pty Ltd

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 11,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,408,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ENSG. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $655,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its position in The Ensign Group by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 0.5% in the first quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,681,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,228,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 43.3% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ENSG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on The Ensign Group from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on The Ensign Group from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Macquarie initiated coverage on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $134.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.83.

Insider Activity at The Ensign Group

In other news, COO Spencer Burton sold 3,099 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.19, for a total transaction of $422,052.81. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 42,629 shares in the company, valued at $5,805,643.51. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other The Ensign Group news, COO Spencer Burton sold 3,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.19, for a total value of $422,052.81. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 42,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,805,643.51. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Daren Shaw sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.26, for a total value of $236,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 30,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,577,365. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,968 shares of company stock worth $1,714,703 in the last quarter. 3.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

Shares of ENSG traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $135.93. 310,172 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 292,543. The firm has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $123.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.20. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $89.79 and a 52 week high of $142.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

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

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 30th will be paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.32%.

The Ensign Group 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.