The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its position in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,700 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,700 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System's holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $2,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,661,581 shares of the company's stock valued at $828,834,000 after purchasing an additional 39,695 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 2.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,322,526 shares of the company's stock valued at $163,577,000 after purchasing an additional 35,862 shares in the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 2.1% in the second quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 877,211 shares of the company's stock valued at $108,502,000 after purchasing an additional 18,412 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 11.7% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 571,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,693,000 after purchasing an additional 59,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 15.7% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 306,103 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,862,000 after purchasing an additional 41,429 shares in the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ENSG. Stephens upped their price target on The Ensign Group from $163.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Truist Financial increased their price objective on The Ensign Group from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $162.20.

The Ensign Group Trading Down 0.6 %

The Ensign Group stock traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $156.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 330,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 370,440. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.88 billion, a PE ratio of 41.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.96. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.74 and a 1 year high of $158.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock's fifty day moving average is $149.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.20.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.01. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 5.68%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. The Ensign Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Ensign Group news, CEO Barry Port sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $310,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,716 shares in the company, valued at $8,325,980. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 16,118 shares of company stock worth $2,363,620 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

About The Ensign Group

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.