Oppenheimer Boosts The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) Price Target to $168.00

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) had its price objective lifted by Oppenheimer from $165.00 to $168.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on ENSG. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Macquarie started coverage on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $134.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $133.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.20.

The Ensign Group Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of The Ensign Group stock opened at $151.87 on Friday. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $133.93. The company has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.97, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.96. The Ensign Group has a 12-month low of $94.56 and a 12-month high of $156.07.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 17.32%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Ensign Group will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Barry Port sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $7,520,240. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Barry Port sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $7,520,240. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Daren Shaw sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.71, for a total transaction of $283,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 29,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,127,303.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,118 shares of company stock worth $2,053,620 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Ensign Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ENSG. F M Investments LLC purchased a new position in The Ensign Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $14,370,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in The Ensign Group by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 571,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,693,000 after buying an additional 59,933 shares during the last quarter. Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The Ensign Group in the 1st quarter worth about $5,167,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in 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 buying an additional 41,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in The Ensign Group by 0.6% in the 1st 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% 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.