Oak Ridge Investments LLC Sells 709 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Oak Ridge Investments LLC decreased its position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,541 shares of the company’s stock after selling 709 shares during the quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC owned 0.06% of The Ensign Group worth $4,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ENSG. CWM LLC raised its position in The Ensign Group by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in The Ensign Group by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 385 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. grew its holdings in The Ensign Group by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 4,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $706,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Alliance raised its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 6.0% in the second quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ENSG. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $175.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on The Ensign Group from $167.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on The Ensign Group from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on The Ensign Group from $163.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Ensign Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.83.

The Ensign Group Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ ENSG opened at $136.79 on Friday. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $110.71 and a 12 month high of $158.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $7.84 billion, a PE ratio of 33.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.93.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 5.84% and a return on equity of 17.21%. The Ensign Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.18%. This is a boost from The Ensign Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.43, for a total value of $93,401.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 30,852 shares in the company, valued at $4,116,582.36. This represents a 2.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Barry Port sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $310,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,716 shares in the company, valued at $8,325,980. This represents a 3.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About The Ensign Group

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.