BNP Paribas Financial Markets Trims Stock Position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lessened its stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) by 11.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,876 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,666 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.09% of The Ensign Group worth $7,461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 210.9% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,648 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,388,000 after buying an additional 6,545 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 294.7% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 9,726 shares of the company's stock worth $1,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,262 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 1,110,692 shares of the company's stock valued at $159,740,000 after purchasing an additional 10,221 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,500,000. Finally, AXA S.A. raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 9.4% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 54,627 shares of the company's stock worth $6,757,000 after purchasing an additional 4,684 shares in the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at The Ensign Group

In other news, CEO Barry Port sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $310,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,325,980. The trade was a 3.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

The Ensign Group Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ ENSG traded down $0.69 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $144.46. 93,404 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 374,683. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.92. The company's 50 day moving average price is $148.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $139.30. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.18 and a 12 month high of $158.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.01. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 5.84%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. The Ensign Group's quarterly revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The Ensign Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.81%.

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.