Short Interest in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) Decreases By 15.7%

The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,990,000 shares, a drop of 15.7% from the October 15th total of 2,360,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 562,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days. Approximately 3.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

The Ensign Group Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of The Ensign Group stock traded down $2.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $143.49. 370,653 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 379,640. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $8.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $149.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.87. The Ensign Group has a 1-year low of $104.18 and a 1-year high of $158.45.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.01. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.21% and a net margin of 5.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Ensign Group will post 5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is presently 5.81%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Barry Port sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 11,118 shares of company stock valued at $1,660,200 over the last 90 days. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Ensign Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in The Ensign Group by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,661,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $828,834,000 after buying an additional 39,695 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 593,779 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in The Ensign Group by 5.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,363,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,181,000 after acquiring an additional 66,314 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake 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 worth $163,577,000 after purchasing an additional 35,862 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 0.9% in 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 period. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ENSG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens upped their price target on The Ensign Group from $163.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on The Ensign Group from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on The Ensign Group from $167.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.20.

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.