Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases New Position in The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $721,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 52.5% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 54,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,465,000 after acquiring an additional 18,699 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group in the 4th quarter worth about $5,224,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group in the 4th quarter worth about $134,660,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 126,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,982,000 after purchasing an additional 17,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dockside LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,180,000. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ENSG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $228.00 price target on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of The Ensign Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $202.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of The Ensign Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, The Ensign Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John O. Agwunobi sold 392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total value of $67,055.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,625,583.18. This trade represents a 3.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 21,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,507,706.56. This trade represents a 3.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 4.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

Shares of ENSG stock opened at $172.98 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $173.40 and its 200-day moving average is $184.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.08 billion, a PE ratio of 27.11, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.68. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.58 and a 52 week high of $218.00.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 16.75% and a net margin of 6.90%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.59 earnings per share. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.750-7.850 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 6.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is currently 4.08%.

About The Ensign Group

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.