MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $5.67 Million Position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,419 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,400 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned 0.07% of The Ensign Group worth $5,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 595.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 20,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,553,000 after acquiring an additional 17,573 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 190.0% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 757 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in The Ensign Group by 21.9% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank grew its holdings in The Ensign Group by 37.5% in the 2nd quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 3,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in The Ensign Group by 294.7% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 9,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,203,000 after buying an additional 7,262 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ENSG shares. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $163.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of The Ensign Group from $167.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on The Ensign Group from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on The Ensign Group in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $175.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Barry Port sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $310,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 53,716 shares in the company, valued at $8,325,980. The trade was a 3.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

The Ensign Group Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ ENSG opened at $146.21 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.83. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a one year low of $104.18 and a one year high of $158.45. The firm has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a PE ratio of 35.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.56.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 5.84%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is 5.81%.

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.