Squarepoint Ops LLC Purchases 8,993 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 89.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,060 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,993 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $2,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ENSG. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in The Ensign Group in the first quarter worth $792,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 7,262 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in The Ensign Group by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,621,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $743,042,000 after buying an additional 310,182 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in The Ensign Group by 14.4% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 52,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,486,000 after buying an additional 6,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in The Ensign Group in the first quarter worth about $1,599,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ENSG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of The Ensign Group from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on The Ensign Group from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. 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 target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.40.

The Ensign Group Stock Up 0.4 %

The Ensign Group stock opened at $145.90 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.59. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.00 and a 1-year high of $154.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.96.

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

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 currently 6.32%.

Insider Activity at The Ensign Group

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

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.