LRT Capital Management LLC Sells 5,574 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

LRT Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 39.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,593 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,574 shares during the quarter. LRT Capital Management LLC’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $1,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in The Ensign Group by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,569,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $795,964,000 after acquiring an additional 1,750,645 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in The Ensign Group during the 4th quarter worth $134,660,000. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in The Ensign Group during the 3rd quarter worth $78,840,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in The Ensign Group by 195.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 513,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,688,000 after acquiring an additional 339,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in The Ensign Group by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,558,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $548,961,000 after acquiring an additional 199,983 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Ensign Group

In other news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.28, for a total transaction of $114,996.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 21,352 shares in the company, valued at $3,507,706.56. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John O. Agwunobi sold 392 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.97, for a total transaction of $78,388.24. Following the sale, the director owned 9,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,721.15. This trade represents a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,592 shares of company stock valued at $478,246. 4.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

The Ensign Group Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ ENSG opened at $149.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.79 and a 52-week high of $218.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $179.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.73. The stock has a market cap of $8.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.68.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.06. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.89% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The firm had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.480-7.620 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio is 4.23%.

Key Stories Impacting The Ensign Group

Here are the key news stories impacting The Ensign Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: No meaningful positive company-specific catalyst was reported in the latest news flow.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple law firms announced or continued investigations into possible securities-law violations and are urging investors who lost money in ENSG to contact them about potential claims. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Another shareholder law firm said it is investigating ENSG after allegations that the company may have issued materially misleading business information. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A report attributed to Muddy Waters raised compliance concerns, and the stock dropped sharply on the news, with allegations that Ensign may have gamed CMS quality ratings and engaged in improper billing practices. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ENSG shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of The Ensign Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of The Ensign Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Ensign Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.75.

The Ensign Group Company Profile

The Ensign Group, Inc is a diversified provider of post-acute healthcare services in the United States, operating a network of skilled nursing, assisted living, independent living, home health and hospice care centers. The company’s model emphasizes integrated care by employing multidisciplinary teams—including nursing staff, therapists and physicians—to deliver personalized rehabilitation and long-term care services for seniors and other patients recovering from injury, illness or surgery.

Through its owned and managed centers, The Ensign Group offers a broad spectrum of rehabilitation services such as physical, occupational and speech therapy.