The Ensign Group’s (ENSG) Overweight Rating Reaffirmed at Stephens

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Stephens in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $135.00 price target on the stock. Stephens’ price target suggests a potential upside of 14.73% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of The Ensign Group from $112.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.60.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

ENSG traded up $0.44 on Tuesday, reaching $117.67. The company had a trading volume of 75,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 263,648. The Ensign Group has a fifty-two week low of $87.14 and a fifty-two week high of $127.57. The stock has a market cap of $6.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s fifty day moving average is $121.99 and its 200 day moving average is $113.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.42.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17. The business had revenue of $980.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $975.13 million. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 17.84%. As a group, analysts predict that The Ensign Group will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 57,982 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.05, for a total value of $6,844,775.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 155,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,380,739.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 57,982 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.05, for a total transaction of $6,844,775.10. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 155,703 shares in the company, valued at $18,380,739.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Beverly B. Wittekind sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.65, for a total value of $1,216,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 37,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,611,994.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 89,245 shares of company stock valued at $10,579,862 over the last three months. 3.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Ensign Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in The Ensign Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The Ensign Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 43.3% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 1,126.8% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 333.1% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares during the period. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Ensign Group Company Profile

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.