Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires New Shares in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group in the second quarter worth about $31,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of The Ensign Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in The Ensign Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in The Ensign Group during the first quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in The Ensign Group during the first quarter worth approximately $50,000. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Daren Shaw sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.71, for a total transaction of $283,420.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 29,125 shares in the company, valued at $4,127,303.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Daren Shaw sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.71, for a total value of $283,420.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 29,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,127,303.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Barry Port sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $420,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 53,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,520,240. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,618 shares of company stock worth $2,140,839. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ENSG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Macquarie started coverage on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on The Ensign Group from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, The Ensign Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.50.

The Ensign Group Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of ENSG stock opened at $146.37 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.99. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.00 and a 1 year high of $147.93. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $133.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.98. 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 Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 17.32%. The business’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 4.95 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 30th were issued a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.32%.

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.