Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Cuts Stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lessened its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 22.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 137,131 shares of the company’s stock after selling 39,826 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned about 0.24% of The Ensign Group worth $21,154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ENSG. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 23.2% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 8,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after buying an additional 1,564 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in The Ensign Group by 1.6% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $754,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in The Ensign Group by 10.7% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in The Ensign Group by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 36,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,727,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in The Ensign Group in the 1st quarter worth $343,000. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

The Ensign Group Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ ENSG opened at $172.50 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $162.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.73 and a 1-year high of $174.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.31, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.93.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 6.99%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.340-6.460 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is 4.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Ensign Group

In other news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.06, for a total value of $120,442.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 27,052 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,654,567.12. This trade represents a 2.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Suzanne D. Snapper sold 8,379 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.21, for a total transaction of $1,241,851.59. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 269,692 shares in the company, valued at $39,971,051.32. The trade was a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,779 shares of company stock worth $1,469,730. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ENSG. Truist Financial raised their price objective on The Ensign Group from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Stephens raised their price target on The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on The Ensign Group from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Ensign Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.67.

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.