Truist Financial Cuts The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) Price Target to $155.00

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) had its target price trimmed by Truist Financial from $170.00 to $155.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the stock.

ENSG has been the subject of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on The Ensign Group from $167.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stephens increased 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. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $175.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Ensign Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.83.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

Shares of ENSG stock opened at $133.18 on Monday. The Ensign Group has a 52 week low of $110.71 and a 52 week high of $158.45. The company has a market capitalization of $7.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.25, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 5.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Ensign Group will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.0625 dividend. This is an increase from The Ensign Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is presently 6.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.43, for a total value of $93,401.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 30,852 shares in the company, valued at $4,116,582.36. This trade represents a 2.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Barry Port sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $310,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,325,980. The trade was a 3.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of The Ensign Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 42.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,995,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,061,000 after buying an additional 593,779 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in The Ensign Group by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,363,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,181,000 after acquiring an additional 66,314 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in The Ensign Group by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,322,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,577,000 after acquiring an additional 35,862 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its stake in The Ensign Group by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 1,110,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,740,000 after purchasing an additional 10,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. bought a new stake in The Ensign Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $151,827,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

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.