Walleye Capital LLC Invests $586,000 in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 4,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $586,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ENSG. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in The Ensign Group by 2.5% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,427 shares of the company's stock worth $1,931,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. De Lisle Partners LLP boosted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 120.1% in the 3rd quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 22,010 shares of the company's stock worth $3,168,000 after purchasing an additional 12,010 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 39,419 shares of the company's stock worth $5,669,000 after buying an additional 7,400 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in The Ensign Group by 140.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 22,148 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,185,000 after buying an additional 12,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised 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 valued at $287,061,000 after buying an additional 593,779 shares during the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ENSG has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on The Ensign Group in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $175.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of 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 raised their price target on shares of The Ensign Group from $167.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on The Ensign Group from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Ensign Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $164.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Ensign Group

In other news, CEO Barry Port sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $310,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 at this link. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

Shares of ENSG traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $144.23. 268,422 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 323,011. The stock has a market cap of $8.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $147.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.86. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.18 and a 1 year high of $158.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56.

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

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

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

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.