D.A. Davidson & CO. Boosts Holdings in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,748 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 667 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $6,436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC increased its holdings in The Ensign Group by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 508 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 2.4% during the second quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 3,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $982,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harfst & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. now owns 12,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,512,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ENSG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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 report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $175.00 target price for the company. Stephens raised 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. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, The Ensign Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.33.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

The Ensign Group stock opened at $145.98 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.53. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.18 and a 1 year high of $158.45. The company has a market capitalization of $8.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.95.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for 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 was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is currently 5.81%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Barry Port sold 2,000 shares of The Ensign Group 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,325,980. The trade was a 3.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company 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.