Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Has $2.83 Million Stock Position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lowered its stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,287 shares of the company’s stock after selling 355 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $2,828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ENSG. CWM LLC boosted its position in The Ensign Group by 16.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 74.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 63,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,179,000 after purchasing an additional 27,140 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 62.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 699 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. DeDora Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 2.8% during the third quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. now owns 7,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,020,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 115.2% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 284 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ENSG opened at $128.07 on Wednesday. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.27 and a twelve month high of $158.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $135.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.30. The company has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a PE ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.94. 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 Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.11). The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 6.99%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.0625 dividend. This is an increase from The Ensign Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is 4.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Macquarie lifted their price target on shares of The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of The Ensign Group from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $175.00 price target on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Ensign Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Ensign Group

In other news, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 39,086 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.52, for a total transaction of $5,805,052.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 12,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,862,292.28. The trade was a 75.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Daren Shaw sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $259,320.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 26,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,413,299.50. The trade was a 7.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,486 shares of company stock valued at $6,254,710. Corporate 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.