The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) Receives $216.75 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $216.75.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded The Ensign Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Zacks Research lowered The Ensign Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded The Ensign Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 14th.

Key Stories Impacting The Ensign Group

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

• Negative Sentiment: Several plaintiff firms, including Pomerantz, Rosen, Lowey Dannenberg, Kessler Topaz, and BFA Law, announced or expanded investigations into possible misleading disclosures and federal securities-law violations at Ensign. Pomerantz investigation article
• Negative Sentiment: Hunterbrook Media and Muddy Waters reports already triggered sharp selling in June by challenging Ensign’s patient-care assertions and legal compliance, wiping out a large amount of market value and keeping investor sentiment cautious. Activist forensic reports article
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, Zacks and other commentary argued that Ensign could still be attractive as a long-term value stock, which may help offset some of the negative legal headlines but does not appear to be the dominant market driver. Zacks value article
• Neutral Sentiment: A proposed Medicare payment bill could indirectly affect post-acute care providers like Ensign by changing long-term acute-care hospital reimbursement rules, but the impact on ENSG looks indirect and uncertain. Medicare payment bill article

The Ensign Group Price Performance

Shares of The Ensign Group stock opened at $164.82 on Friday. The Ensign Group has a 52 week low of $134.79 and a 52 week high of $218.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $9.63 billion, a PE ratio of 26.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $169.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.76.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.480-7.620 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Ensign Group will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.28, for a total value of $114,996.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 21,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,507,706.56. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,721.15. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,892 shares of company stock worth $340,591. Corporate insiders own 4.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ENSG. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 62.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,558,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,961,000 after purchasing an additional 199,983 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,016,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $348,322,000 after purchasing an additional 136,260 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,498,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,107,000 after purchasing an additional 49,117 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,332,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,124,000 after purchasing an additional 118,110 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

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.