The Ensign Group, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.06 (NASDAQ:ENSG)

The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, September 13th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of 0.06 per share on Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th.

The Ensign Group has raised its dividend payment by an average of 4.7% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 17 years. The Ensign Group has a payout ratio of 4.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect The Ensign Group to earn $5.54 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 4.3%.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ENSG opened at $144.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.53. The Ensign Group has a fifty-two week low of $90.00 and a fifty-two week high of $154.93. The stock has a market cap of $8.20 billion, a PE ratio of 37.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $145.73 and a 200-day moving average of $130.09.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm earned $1.08 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Ensign Group will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Barry Port sold 5,618 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $842,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 53,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,057,400. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Barry Port sold 5,618 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $842,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,057,400. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Daren Shaw sold 2,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 29,125 shares in the company, valued at $4,127,303.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,736 shares of company stock valued at $3,491,039 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ENSG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of 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 assumed coverage on The Ensign Group in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.