Bridgewater Associates LP Decreases Stock Position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Bridgewater Associates LP trimmed its position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 75.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,667 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,377 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $1,246,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 210.9% in the third 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 last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in The Ensign Group by 294.7% in the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 9,726 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,262 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 0.9% in the third quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 1,110,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,740,000 after buying an additional 10,221 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group in the second quarter valued at $3,500,000. Finally, AXA S.A. increased its holdings in The Ensign Group by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 54,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,757,000 after purchasing an additional 4,684 shares during the period. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Ensign Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of The Ensign Group stock opened at $146.21 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.95. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.18 and a fifty-two week high of $158.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $148.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.98.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.01. The company 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 business’s revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Ensign Group

In other news, CEO Barry Port sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $310,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,325,980. This represents a 3.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

The Ensign Group Company 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.