Norges Bank Buys Shares of 773,017 The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 773,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $134,660,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,569,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $795,964,000 after buying an additional 1,750,645 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in The Ensign Group during the third quarter worth approximately $78,840,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in The Ensign Group by 195.4% in 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 period. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 199,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 135,173.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 150,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,157,000 after acquiring an additional 150,043 shares during the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on ENSG. UBS Group set a $230.00 target price on The Ensign Group and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $222.00 price target (up from $206.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of The Ensign Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Truist Financial set a $215.00 price target on The Ensign Group and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Ensign Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.75.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

The Ensign Group stock opened at $164.29 on Friday. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $134.79 and a 12-month high of $218.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The company has a market capitalization of $9.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $185.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $187.82.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. On average, research analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 6.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.65, for a total transaction of $137,655.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,356,190.80. This represents a 3.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the director directly owned 9,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,721.15. The trade was 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,592 shares of company stock worth $478,246. 4.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.