Prudent Man Advisors LLC Has $227,000 Stock Position in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Prudent Man Advisors LLC lowered its stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,705 shares of the company’s stock after selling 177 shares during the period. Prudent Man Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ENSG. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in The Ensign Group by 90.2% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 14,618 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,102,000 after buying an additional 6,931 shares during the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in The Ensign Group by 210.9% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,388,000 after buying an additional 6,545 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in The Ensign Group by 67.9% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 13,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,038,000 after buying an additional 5,632 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in The Ensign Group by 0.9% during the third quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 1,110,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,740,000 after buying an additional 10,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in The Ensign Group by 26.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 379,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,595,000 after purchasing an additional 78,570 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ENSG shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Thursday, November 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $175.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of The Ensign Group from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.17.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

ENSG stock opened at $129.15 on Friday. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $134.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.63. The company has a market capitalization of $7.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.27 and a 52-week high of $158.45.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.11). The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.99% and a return on equity of 17.07%. Research analysts expect that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. This is an increase from The Ensign Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio is 4.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 39,086 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.52, for a total transaction of $5,805,052.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,862,292.28. This represents a 75.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.48, for a total value of $96,936.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 30,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,258,536.96. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,486 shares of company stock worth $6,254,710. 3.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.