The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on ENSG. Zacks Research downgraded The Ensign Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $215.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of The Ensign Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Ensign Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.50.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

The Ensign Group stock opened at $178.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.41 billion, a PE ratio of 29.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $165.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.89. The Ensign Group has a one year low of $141.58 and a one year high of $218.00.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 6.89%.The company’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.59 EPS. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.750-7.850 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Ensign Group will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.23%.

Insider Activity at The Ensign Group

In related news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.28, for a total transaction of $114,996.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 21,352 shares in the company, valued at $3,507,706.56. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 4.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of The Ensign Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ENSG. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 10.7% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,278,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $365,215,000 after acquiring an additional 220,329 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 19,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,072,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 17.3% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 13,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,100,000 after purchasing an additional 1,932 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in The Ensign Group by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 23,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,779,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares in the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting The Ensign Group

Here are the key news stories impacting The Ensign Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ensign reported second-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.92, exceeding the $1.80 consensus estimate and rising 20.8% year over year. GAAP diluted EPS was $1.68, up 16.7%, while revenue increased 17.3% to $1.44 billion. Ensign Group Q2 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised 2026 guidance to $7.75–$7.85 EPS from $7.48–$7.62 and revenue of $5.87–$5.92 billion from $5.81–$5.86 billion. The EPS midpoint is above the reported $7.41 consensus estimate, signaling confidence in continued growth. Ensign Signals Confidence with Higher 2026 Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Operating trends were favorable: same-facility occupancy reached 84.1%, skilled-mix revenue rose 10.1%, and the company added 20 operations. Ensign also reported $262.3 million in cash, $591.6 million of credit capacity, and continued its quarterly $0.065 dividend. The Ensign Group Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: The reported analyst consensus price target is $213.50, implying potential upside based on recent trading levels, but only limited analyst coverage was cited. A results conference call is scheduled for July 29.
• Negative Sentiment: Kaplan Fox and Rosen Law Firm announced investigations into possible securities-law violations and allegedly misleading investor communications. These announcements do not establish wrongdoing, but they could increase legal, reputational, and shareholder-litigation risk. Kaplan Fox Ensign Investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Management cautioned that guidance depends on acquisitions closing, reimbursement rates, insurance costs, and improving recently acquired facilities, many of which have below-average occupancy and operational challenges.

The Ensign Group Company 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.