First Eagle Investment Management LLC Invests $160,000 in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $160,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ENSG. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Ensign Group during the second quarter worth about $31,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of The Ensign Group during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Ensign Group during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in The Ensign Group in the first quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in The Ensign Group in the first quarter worth approximately $50,000. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

The Ensign Group Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ ENSG opened at $150.86 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.96. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.00 and a 52 week high of $154.93. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $144.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 5.68%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is 6.32%.

Insider Activity at The Ensign Group

In related news, COO Spencer Burton sold 7,519 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.04, for a total transaction of $1,015,365.76. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 42,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,756,620.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other The Ensign Group news, CEO Barry Port sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $420,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 53,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,520,240. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Spencer Burton sold 7,519 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.04, for a total value of $1,015,365.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 42,629 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,756,620.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,736 shares of company stock valued at $3,491,039 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ENSG. Truist Financial lifted their target price on The Ensign Group from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on The Ensign Group from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Macquarie began coverage on The Ensign Group in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $134.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $139.50.

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.