The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) Stake Reduced by Eagle Asset Management Inc.

Eagle Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 0.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 164,423 shares of the company’s stock after selling 374 shares during the quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.29% of The Ensign Group worth $24,359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in The Ensign Group by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 4,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 734 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in The Ensign Group during the 1st quarter worth $448,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in The Ensign Group by 26.7% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 4,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 940 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in The Ensign Group by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 52,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,486,000 after acquiring an additional 6,583 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis boosted its position in The Ensign Group by 39.6% during the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

The Ensign Group Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ ENSG opened at $146.36 on Friday. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.18 and a 12 month high of $158.45. The company has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.64.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 5.84%. The Ensign Group’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.02 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is 5.81%.

Insider Activity at The Ensign Group

In other The Ensign Group news, CEO Barry Port sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $310,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,325,980. This represents a 3.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial upped their price objective on The Ensign Group from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group assumed coverage on The Ensign Group in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $175.00 price objective for the company. Stephens upped their price objective on The Ensign Group from $163.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on The Ensign Group from $167.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.33.

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.