Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Reduces Stock Position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC cut its stake in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 9.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,341 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,119 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $1,631,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. F M Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group in the second quarter worth $14,370,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 571,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,693,000 after purchasing an additional 59,933 shares during the last quarter. Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $5,167,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 306,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,862,000 after purchasing an additional 41,429 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,661,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $828,834,000 after buying an additional 39,695 shares during the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Barry Port sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $507,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,788,820. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,118 shares of company stock worth $1,660,200. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ENSG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on The Ensign Group from $167.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Stephens lifted their target price on The Ensign Group from $163.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, The Ensign Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.20.

The Ensign Group Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of ENSG stock opened at $148.79 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.03, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $149.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.64. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a one year low of $104.09 and a one year high of $158.45.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 5.84%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.81%.

The Ensign Group 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.