Brokerages Set The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) Price Target at $161.83

Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $161.83.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens boosted their target price on The Ensign Group from $163.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $175.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on The Ensign Group from $167.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Ensign Group news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.43, for a total transaction of $93,401.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 30,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,116,582.36. The trade was a 2.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Barry Port sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 53,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,325,980. This represents a 3.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Ensign Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in The Ensign Group by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 27,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,702,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in The Ensign Group by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 379,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,595,000 after acquiring an additional 78,570 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in The Ensign Group by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 314,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,522,000 after acquiring an additional 42,072 shares during the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

Shares of The Ensign Group stock opened at $130.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.71, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.63. The Ensign Group has a 12 month low of $110.71 and a 12 month high of $158.45. 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 Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.01. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 5.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Ensign Group will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.0625 dividend. This is a positive change from The Ensign Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.05%.

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.