Insider Selling: The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) Director Sells $12,286.25 in Stock

The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG – Get Rating) Director Ann Scott Blouin sold 125 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total transaction of $12,286.25. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,614,609.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

Shares of ENSG stock opened at $93.16 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.82. The company has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $70.29 and a 12-month high of $99.52.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 26th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $770.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $749.71 million. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 19.42% and a net margin of 7.32%. Analysts expect that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.058 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 29th. This is an increase from The Ensign Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.25%. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ENSG shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of The Ensign Group from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 1st. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of The Ensign Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Ensign Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.60.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Ensign Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 3.0% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,635,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,984,000 after buying an additional 277,052 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 4.7% during the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors Inc. now owns 6,409,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $576,893,000 after buying an additional 288,585 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,307,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,423,000 after buying an additional 134,749 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 3.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,888,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,203,000 after buying an additional 55,108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverbridge Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 7.0% during the third quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,677,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,393,000 after buying an additional 109,908 shares during the last quarter. 88.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Ensign Group Company Profile

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The Ensign Group, Inc provides health care services in the post-acute care continuum and other ancillary businesses. The company operates in two segments, Skilled Services and Real Estate. The company offers skilled services, which include short and long-term nursing care services for patients with chronic conditions, prolonged illness, and the elderly; and physical, occupational, and speech therapies and other rehabilitative and healthcare services.