Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 10,379 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 3.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 294,792 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,379 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $36,463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Evoke Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of The Ensign Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,993,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in The Ensign Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $792,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,621,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $743,042,000 after acquiring an additional 310,182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 102.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 64,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,274,000 after acquiring an additional 32,884 shares during the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price target 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. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Macquarie started coverage on The Ensign Group in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $134.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.50.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

ENSG stock opened at $151.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.62 billion, a PE ratio of 39.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.99. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.00 and a 12 month high of $151.74. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $136.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.32. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.02. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 5.68%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 4.95 earnings per share for the current year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at The Ensign Group

In other news, CEO Barry Port sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $507,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,716 shares in the company, valued at $7,788,820. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Barry Port sold 3,500 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $507,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 53,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,788,820. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daren Shaw sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.71, for a total value of $283,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 29,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,127,303.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,118 shares of company stock worth $2,648,339. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.