Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC Sells 3,202 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 9.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,979 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,202 shares during the quarter. The Ensign Group accounts for approximately 1.2% of Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of The Ensign Group worth $5,527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 33.4% in the second quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 45,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,090,000 after purchasing an additional 11,496 shares during the last quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. bought a new position in shares of The Ensign Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $970,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 267,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,253,000 after buying an additional 25,239 shares during the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 61.4% in the second quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 492,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,898,000 after acquiring an additional 187,262 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group in the first quarter worth $2,205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens increased their target price on The Ensign Group from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective (up previously from $205.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $206.00 price objective (up previously from $177.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Friday, November 14th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Ensign Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $196.40.

The Ensign Group Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:ENSG opened at $176.79 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $180.87 and a 200 day moving average of $167.48. The company has a market cap of $10.24 billion, a PE ratio of 31.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $118.73 and a 12-month high of $193.99.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 16.77%. The firm’s revenue was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.480-6.540 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, January 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. This is an increase from The Ensign Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is currently 4.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Ensign Group news, VP Beverly B. Wittekind sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $360,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 32,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,900,220. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Daren Shaw sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.57, for a total value of $178,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 24,126 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,179.82. The trade was a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 49,542 shares of company stock worth $8,888,109 in the last three months. 3.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The Ensign Group Profile

The Ensign Group, Inc is a diversified provider of post-acute healthcare services in the United States, operating a network of skilled nursing, assisted living, independent living, home health and hospice care centers. The company’s model emphasizes integrated care by employing multidisciplinary teams—including nursing staff, therapists and physicians—to deliver personalized rehabilitation and long-term care services for seniors and other patients recovering from injury, illness or surgery.

Through its owned and managed centers, The Ensign Group offers a broad spectrum of rehabilitation services such as physical, occupational and speech therapy.