Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC reduced its stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 20.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,016 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,992 shares during the quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $2,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in The Ensign Group by 115.2% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 284 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $54,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 30.1% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 294.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ENSG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial lowered their price target 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. 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. Stephens raised their price target on The Ensign Group from $163.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $175.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Ensign Group news, CEO Barry Port sold 2,000 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $310,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 53,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,325,980. The trade was a 3.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.43, for a total value of $93,401.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 30,852 shares in the company, valued at $4,116,582.36. This trade represents a 2.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Ensign Group Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of The Ensign Group stock opened at $133.18 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $110.71 and a 12-month high of $158.45. The company has a market cap of $7.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.25, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.48.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.01. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 5.84% and a return on equity of 17.21%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This is a boost from The Ensign Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.81%.

The Ensign Group 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.