Cerity Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 164.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,442 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,765 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $639,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 210.9% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,388,000 after acquiring an additional 6,545 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 25.4% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 59,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,612,000 after purchasing an additional 12,114 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 78.6% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $568,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in The Ensign Group by 3.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 800,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,143,000 after purchasing an additional 23,381 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 18,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,709,000 after purchasing an additional 2,957 shares in the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on ENSG shares. Oppenheimer raised their price target on The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group started coverage on The Ensign Group in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $175.00 target price for the company. Stephens upped their price target on shares of The Ensign Group from $163.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of The Ensign Group from $167.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.33.

Insider Activity at The Ensign Group

In other The Ensign Group news, CEO Barry Port sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $310,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 53,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,325,980. The trade was a 3.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ENSG opened at $144.23 on Friday. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.18 and a 1 year high of $158.45. The firm has a market cap of $8.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.92, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $147.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 5.84%. The Ensign Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.81%.

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.