Hound Partners LLC Has $11.22 Million Stock Position in The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Hound Partners LLC lowered its position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 14.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,681 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,592 shares during the quarter. The Ensign Group makes up approximately 1.4% of Hound Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Hound Partners LLC owned about 0.10% of The Ensign Group worth $11,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 28,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,794,000 after buying an additional 2,374 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $695,000. Entropy Technologies LP increased its holdings in The Ensign Group by 30.0% in the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 13,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,694,000 after buying an additional 3,085 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in The Ensign Group by 28.0% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 58,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,698,000 after buying an additional 12,717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in The Ensign Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $4,312,000. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on ENSG shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of The Ensign Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of The Ensign Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Zacks Research lowered shares of The Ensign Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $215.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $213.50.

Insider Transactions at The Ensign Group

In related news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 21,352 shares in the company, valued at $3,507,706.56. This trade represents a 3.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 4.00% of the company’s stock.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

Shares of ENSG stock opened at $172.99 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.91. 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 twelve month low of $141.58 and a twelve month high of $218.00. The company has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.17, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.69.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 6.89%. As a group, research analysts predict that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.23%.

About The Ensign Group

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.