The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG Shares Sold by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 25.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 222,786 shares of the company’s stock after selling 76,348 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $38,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ENSG. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in The Ensign Group by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,569,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $795,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750,645 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $78,840,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 195.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 513,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,688,000 after acquiring an additional 339,534 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,558,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $548,961,000 after acquiring an additional 199,983 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 135,173.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 150,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,157,000 after acquiring an additional 150,043 shares during the period. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ENSG. Truist Financial set a $215.00 price target on shares of The Ensign Group and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group set a $230.00 price target on shares of The Ensign Group and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed 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. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of The Ensign Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Ensign Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.75.

The Ensign Group Stock Down 0.4%

ENSG stock opened at $175.89 on Wednesday. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.79 and a 52-week high of $218.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $194.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.73.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.89% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.480-7.620 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 6.79 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Ensign Group

In other The Ensign Group news, Director John O. Agwunobi sold 392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.97, for a total value of $78,388.24. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,721.15. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Beverly B. Wittekind sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.23, for a total transaction of $105,115.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 32,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,891,129.17. This represents a 1.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,242 shares of company stock worth $648,724. 4.00% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.