Bard Associates Inc. Decreases Holdings in The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Bard Associates Inc. reduced its position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 37.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 53,480 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,513 shares during the period. The Ensign Group accounts for approximately 2.5% of Bard Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Bard Associates Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of The Ensign Group worth $9,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ENSG. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 6.0% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,558,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,961,000 after acquiring an additional 199,983 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 96.2% during the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,818,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $486,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,382,035 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in The Ensign Group by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,016,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $348,322,000 after purchasing an additional 136,260 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in The Ensign Group by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,437,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,741,000 after purchasing an additional 20,229 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,085,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,516,000 after purchasing an additional 8,272 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ENSG. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group set a $230.00 price objective on shares of The Ensign Group and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Truist Financial set a $215.00 target price on shares of The Ensign Group and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of The Ensign Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised The Ensign Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Ensign Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Ensign Group news, Director John O. Agwunobi sold 246 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.82, for a total value of $44,235.72. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,660,278.06. The trade was a 2.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Beverly B. Wittekind sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $360,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 32,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,900,220. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 19,073 shares of company stock worth $3,693,390 in the last three months. 3.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

ENSG opened at $209.71 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $12.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.83. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $118.73 and a 12 month high of $218.00. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $182.97.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.410-7.610 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

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

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.