Marshall Wace LLP Buys 23,742 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) by 147.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,897 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,742 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 0.07% of The Ensign Group worth $5,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,571 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,538,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,180 shares of the company's stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. increased its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 4,998 shares of the company's stock valued at $664,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in The Ensign Group by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,731 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, DeDora Capital Inc. increased its stake in The Ensign Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. now owns 7,188 shares of the company's stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ENSG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on The Ensign Group from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Macquarie raised their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Ensign Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $165.17.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

ENSG traded down $1.35 on Tuesday, reaching $125.73. The company had a trading volume of 51,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 428,330. The company's fifty day moving average is $128.44 and its 200 day moving average is $136.68. 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 stock has a market cap of $7.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.91. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.27 and a fifty-two week high of $158.45.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.11). The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 17.07%. As a group, analysts predict that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. The Ensign Group's dividend payout ratio is 4.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 39,086 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.52, for a total transaction of $5,805,052.72. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 12,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,862,292.28. This represents a 75.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.48, for a total value of $96,936.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,752 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,258,536.96. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,486 shares of company stock worth $6,251,714 in the last quarter. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

The Ensign Group 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.