The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) Receives $126.17 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $126.17.

ENSG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Macquarie initiated coverage on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $134.00 price target on the stock. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of The Ensign Group from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ENSG traded up $2.91 on Friday, reaching $123.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,207,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 256,139. The stock's 50-day moving average is $119.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.92. The Ensign Group has a 52-week low of $88.79 and a 52-week high of $127.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.55, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.99.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 5.67% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.01 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Ensign Group will post 4.95 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. The Ensign Group's payout ratio is currently 6.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Ensign Group news, Director Ann Scott Blouin sold 350 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.47, for a total transaction of $40,764.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,002 shares in the company, valued at $2,329,632.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other The Ensign Group news, Director Daren Shaw sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.26, for a total value of $236,520.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 30,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,577,365. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ann Scott Blouin sold 350 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.47, for a total transaction of $40,764.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,002 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,329,632.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,813 shares of company stock worth $808,203. 3.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Ensign Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 11.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 295,716 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,481,000 after purchasing an additional 30,184 shares in the last quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Ensign Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,993,000. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 102.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 64,828 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,274,000 after buying an additional 32,884 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,621,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $743,042,000 after buying an additional 310,182 shares during the period. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of The Ensign Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,691,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% of the company's stock.

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.