Daren Shaw Sells 1,000 Shares of The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) Stock

The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) Director Daren Shaw sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.57, for a total value of $178,570.00. Following the sale, the director owned 24,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,179.82. The trade was a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

NASDAQ ENSG traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $178.71. The company had a trading volume of 349,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 423,530. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.43, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.94. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.73 and a 52 week high of $193.99. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $161.29.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.05. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 6.99%.The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.480-6.540 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ENSG shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price target (up previously from $205.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Stephens upped their target price on The Ensign Group from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $206.00 price target (up previously from $177.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Friday, November 14th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on The Ensign Group from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Ensign Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $196.40.

Institutional Trading of The Ensign Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 585 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 12.9% in the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 2,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 3.2% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 65,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,516,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC boosted its position in The Ensign Group by 4.6% during the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 1,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of The Ensign Group during the first quarter valued at about $4,460,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

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.