New York Life Investment Management LLC Makes New $777,000 Investment in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

New York Life Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $777,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in The Ensign Group by 42.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,995,971 shares of the company's stock worth $287,061,000 after purchasing an additional 593,779 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in The Ensign Group by 5.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,363,822 shares of the company's stock worth $196,181,000 after purchasing an additional 66,314 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in The Ensign Group by 0.9% during the third quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 1,110,692 shares of the company's stock worth $159,740,000 after purchasing an additional 10,221 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. purchased a new stake in The Ensign Group during the third quarter worth about $151,827,000. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in The Ensign Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 944,077 shares of the company's stock worth $125,430,000 after purchasing an additional 7,542 shares during the period. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ENSG. Macquarie boosted their price target on shares of The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on The Ensign Group from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on The Ensign Group in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $175.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $165.17.

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Insider Activity at The Ensign Group

In other news, Director Daren Shaw sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $259,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 26,325 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,413,299.50. This represents a 7.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.43, for a total value of $93,401.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 30,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,116,582.36. The trade was a 2.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,186 shares of company stock valued at $6,345,115 over the last three months. 3.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Ensign Group Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of The Ensign Group stock traded up $1.37 on Friday, reaching $130.33. 314,590 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 447,761. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $133.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The company has a market cap of $7.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.98. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $113.27 and a 1-year high of $158.45.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.19%. This is an increase from The Ensign Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. The Ensign Group's dividend payout ratio is 4.89%.

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.