The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Zacks Research

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Truist Financial set a $215.00 price target on The Ensign Group and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $222.00 price target (up from $206.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group set a $230.00 price target on The Ensign Group and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded The Ensign Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, The Ensign Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.60.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

Shares of The Ensign Group stock traded up $5.20 during trading on Monday, reaching $205.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 44,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 373,860. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The Ensign Group has a 12-month low of $118.73 and a 12-month high of $218.00. The company has a market capitalization of $11.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $202.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $186.93.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John O. Agwunobi sold 146 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.31, for a total transaction of $26,033.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,087 shares in the company, valued at $1,620,302.97. The trade was a 1.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Daren Shaw sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.43, for a total value of $213,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 23,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,063,840.18. The trade was a 4.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,073 shares of company stock valued at $3,349,532. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Ensign Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in The Ensign Group by 156.5% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 159 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Monetary Solutions Ltd purchased a new position in The Ensign Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Bayban acquired a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 125.6% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.