Wasatch Advisors LP Sells 780,571 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Wasatch Advisors LP lowered its stake in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 27.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,057,995 shares of the company’s stock after selling 780,571 shares during the period. The Ensign Group comprises about 2.8% of Wasatch Advisors LP’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Wasatch Advisors LP’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $414,686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ENSG. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group in the first quarter worth $3,365,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in The Ensign Group by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 2,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in The Ensign Group by 40.6% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $544,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,846,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 39,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,911,000 after acquiring an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ENSG opened at $163.05 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $171.64 and its 200-day moving average is $184.97. The company has a market cap of $9.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.56, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.68. 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 Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. The firm’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. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised The Ensign Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Zacks Research downgraded The Ensign Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered The Ensign Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.75.

Insider Activity at The Ensign Group

In other news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.28, for a total transaction of $114,996.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 21,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,507,706.56. The trade was a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.97, for a total value of $78,388.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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. Insiders have sold a total of 2,592 shares of company stock worth $478,246 in the last three months. 4.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

The Ensign Group 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.