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

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) had its price objective lowered by Truist Financial from $170.00 to $155.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the stock.

ENSG has been the topic of a number of other 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 research note on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer lifted 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. UBS Group assumed coverage on The Ensign Group in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $175.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, The Ensign Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.83.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ENSG opened at $130.06 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $7.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.49, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93. The Ensign Group has a fifty-two week low of $110.71 and a fifty-two week high of $158.45. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $143.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.48.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.01. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 5.84% and a return on equity of 17.21%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. The Ensign Group’s revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Ensign Group will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other The Ensign Group news, CEO Barry Port sold 2,000 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $310,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,325,980. The trade was a 3.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were 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 owns 30,852 shares in the company, valued at $4,116,582.36. This trade represents a 2.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Ensign Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ENSG. CWM LLC raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 508 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in The Ensign Group by 30.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 385 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. lifted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 2.3% in the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 4,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $706,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Alliance boosted its position in The Ensign Group by 6.0% during the second quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.