Quest Partners LLC Lowers Position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Quest Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) by 96.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 354 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,439 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC's holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $51,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 595.9% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 20,522 shares of the company's stock worth $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 17,573 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 190.0% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 757 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 21.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $158,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank increased its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 37.5% in the second quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 3,745 shares of the company's stock worth $463,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 294.7% during the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 9,726 shares of the company's stock worth $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,262 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.12% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at The Ensign Group

In other The Ensign Group news, CEO Barry Port sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $310,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 53,716 shares in the company, valued at $8,325,980. This represents a 3.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Stephens upped their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on The Ensign Group from $167.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group assumed coverage on The Ensign Group in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $175.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $164.33.

The Ensign Group Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of ENSG traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $146.21. The company had a trading volume of 176,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 428,620. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.18 and a 1-year high of $158.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.98. The stock has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a PE ratio of 35.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.95.

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

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. The Ensign Group's payout ratio is 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.