Wealth Alliance Takes $201,000 Position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Wealth Alliance purchased a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 1,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wasatch Advisors Inc. grew its position in The Ensign Group by 4.7% in the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors Inc. now owns 6,409,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $576,893,000 after acquiring an additional 288,585 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in The Ensign Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,307,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $501,423,000 after acquiring an additional 134,749 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in The Ensign Group by 2.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,929,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,292,000 after acquiring an additional 38,818 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in The Ensign Group by 4.4% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,066,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,853,000 after acquiring an additional 45,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van Berkom & Associates Inc. grew its position in The Ensign Group by 13.8% in the third quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 1,000,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,020,000 after acquiring an additional 121,432 shares in the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ ENSG opened at $118.26 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.14 and a 12-month high of $127.57. The firm has a market cap of $6.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.31, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.94.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.17. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 17.84%. The business had revenue of $980.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $975.13 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 10,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.56, for a total transaction of $1,269,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 147,400 shares in the company, valued at $17,328,344. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 57,982 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.05, for a total transaction of $6,844,775.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 155,703 shares in the company, valued at $18,380,739.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 10,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.56, for a total transaction of $1,269,648.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 147,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,328,344. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 89,245 shares of company stock valued at $10,579,862. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ENSG shares. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $112.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, The Ensign Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.20.

The Ensign Group Profile

The Ensign Group, Inc provides skilled nursing, senior living, and rehabilitative services. It operates through two segments: Skilled Services and Standard Bearer. The company's Skilled Services segment engages in the operation of skilled nursing facilities and rehabilitation therapy services for patients with chronic conditions, prolonged illness, and the elderly; and offers nursing facilities including specialty care, such as on-site dialysis, ventilator care, cardiac, and pulmonary management, as well as standard services comprising room and board, special nutritional programs, social services, recreational activities, entertainment, and other services.