J. W. Coons Advisors LLC Has $640,000 Stock Holdings in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

J. W. Coons Advisors LLC grew its stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 24.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,816 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 948 shares during the period. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 42.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,995,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,061,000 after buying an additional 593,779 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 5.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,363,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,181,000 after buying an additional 66,314 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its stake in The Ensign Group by 0.9% during the third quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 1,110,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,740,000 after purchasing an additional 10,221 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new stake in The Ensign Group during the third quarter worth approximately $151,827,000. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in The Ensign Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 944,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,430,000 after purchasing an additional 7,542 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

The Ensign Group Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ENSG opened at $126.34 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $134.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.97. The firm has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.72, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94. 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 52-week low of $113.27 and a 52-week high of $158.45.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.11). The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 6.99%. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from The Ensign Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.89%.

Insider Activity at The Ensign Group

In related news, Director Daren Shaw sold 2,000 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $259,320.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 26,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,413,299.50. The trade was a 7.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.48, for a total value of $96,936.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,258,536.96. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,486 shares of company stock valued at $6,254,710 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ENSG shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Macquarie raised their target price on The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group started coverage on The Ensign Group in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $175.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on The Ensign Group from $167.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.17.

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.