De Lisle Partners LLP Raises Stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

De Lisle Partners LLP boosted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) by 120.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,010 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 12,010 shares during the quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP's holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $3,168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in The Ensign Group by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 39,419 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,669,000 after purchasing an additional 7,400 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 140.7% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 22,148 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,185,000 after acquiring an additional 12,947 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 42.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,995,971 shares of the company's stock worth $287,061,000 after acquiring an additional 593,779 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in The Ensign Group by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 44,748 shares of the company's stock worth $6,436,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in The Ensign Group by 105.1% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 66,691 shares of the company's stock worth $9,592,000 after acquiring an additional 34,172 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Ensign Group

In other news, CEO Barry Port sold 2,000 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $310,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 53,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,325,980. The trade was a 3.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ENSG. UBS Group started coverage on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $175.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens raised their price target on The Ensign Group from $163.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on The Ensign Group from $167.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on The Ensign Group from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $164.33.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

Shares of ENSG stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $145.98. 311,691 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 377,342. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $148.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $138.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.18 and a 12-month high of $158.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.95.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.07 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 5.84%. The business's revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.02 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. The Ensign Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 5.81%.

The Ensign Group Company 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.