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

The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $119.20.

ENSG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on The Ensign Group from $112.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on The Ensign Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd.

The Ensign Group Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ENSG opened at $118.26 on Monday. The Ensign Group has a 1 year low of $87.14 and a 1 year high of $127.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $122.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.93.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17. The firm had revenue of $980.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $975.13 million. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.84% and a net margin of 5.61%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Ensign Group will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 31st will be paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Ensign Group news, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 57,982 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $18,380,739.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 57,982 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.05, for a total transaction 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 approximately $18,380,739.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Daren Shaw sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.67, for a total value of $718,020.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 31,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,754,646.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 89,245 shares of company stock valued at $10,579,862 in the last three months. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Ensign Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in The Ensign Group by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in The Ensign Group by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.