Crewe Advisors LLC Sells 1,090,266 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Crewe Advisors LLC reduced its stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 98.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,426 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,090,266 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $2,714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Retirement Systems of Alabama bought a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group during the fourth quarter worth $9,193,000. Prudent Investors Network Inc. acquired a new position in The Ensign Group in the 4th quarter worth $212,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 944,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,430,000 after purchasing an additional 7,542 shares during the period. Ibex Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $217,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $182,000. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Ensign Group Stock Up 2.4 %

The Ensign Group stock opened at $148.86 on Thursday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $138.28 and its 200-day moving average is $143.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.53 billion, a PE ratio of 36.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.94. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.27 and a fifty-two week high of $158.45.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.11). The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 5.84%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This is an increase from The Ensign Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.48, for a total transaction of $96,936.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 30,752 shares in the company, valued at $4,258,536.96. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 39,086 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.52, for a total value of $5,805,052.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,862,292.28. The trade was a 75.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,486 shares of company stock valued at $5,995,390 over the last ninety days. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ENSG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $167.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of The Ensign Group from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Macquarie increased their price objective on shares of The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on The Ensign Group in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $175.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $167.17.

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.