Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 4,146 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its holdings in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 24.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 13,162 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,146 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $2,274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ENSG. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 33.4% during the 2nd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 45,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,090,000 after buying an additional 11,496 shares during the period. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. acquired a new position in shares of The Ensign Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $970,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 378.6% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 22,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,861,000 after acquiring an additional 17,677 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 96.2% during the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,818,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $486,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,382,035 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new stake in The Ensign Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,157,000. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:ENSG opened at $203.93 on Wednesday. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $118.73 and a 52-week high of $204.53. The company has a market cap of $11.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $178.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.01.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 6.80%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.410-7.610 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This is a boost from The Ensign Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is currently 4.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ENSG. Wall Street Zen upgraded The Ensign Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. UBS Group set a $230.00 price objective on The Ensign Group and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $222.00 price objective (up from $206.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Monday. Stephens lifted their target price on The Ensign Group from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Ensign Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Ensign Group news, CFO Suzanne D. Snapper sold 8,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.48, for a total transaction of $1,606,015.84. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 277,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,960,809.76. This represents a 2.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Beverly B. Wittekind sold 8,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.48, for a total transaction of $1,474,032.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 32,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,752,058.92. This represents a 20.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 34,931 shares of company stock valued at $6,419,591 in the last ninety days. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by 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.