Carmel Capital Partners LLC Buys 2,117 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Carmel Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 661.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,437 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,117 shares during the period. Carmel Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 1,839 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 52,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,725,000 after purchasing an additional 4,140 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. bought a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $957,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 54.5% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 28,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,535,000 after purchasing an additional 9,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 136,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,330,000 after purchasing an additional 6,609 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ENSG shares. Oppenheimer upped their target price on The Ensign Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on The Ensign Group from $112.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.20.

The Ensign Group Stock Up 1.5 %

ENSG stock traded up $1.78 during trading on Friday, reaching $118.26. 266,665 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 255,832. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $122.04 and its 200 day moving average is $112.78. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.14 and a twelve month high of $127.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $6.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.94.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.84% and a net margin of 5.61%. The business had revenue of $980.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $975.13 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 31st will be paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.56%.

Insider Transactions at The Ensign Group

In other news, Director Daren Shaw sold 4,463 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.96, for a total value of $530,918.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,836,460. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Daren Shaw sold 4,463 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.96, for a total value of $530,918.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,836,460. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 57,982 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.05, for a total value of $6,844,775.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 155,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,380,739.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 89,245 shares of company stock valued at $10,579,862 over the last ninety days. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.