The Ensign Group, Inc. (ENSG) To Go Ex-Dividend on March 31st

The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, March 21st, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of 0.0625 per share on Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st.

The Ensign Group has a dividend payout ratio of 3.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect The Ensign Group to earn $6.17 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.25 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 4.1%.

The Ensign Group Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ ENSG opened at $128.24 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.37 billion, a PE ratio of 25.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $132.85 and its 200 day moving average is $140.82. The Ensign Group has a twelve month low of $113.27 and a twelve month high of $158.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 forecast that The Ensign Group will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ENSG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Macquarie lifted their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on The Ensign Group from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.48, for a total transaction of $96,936.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 30,752 shares in the company, valued at $4,258,536.96. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 39,086 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 12,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,862,292.28. This trade represents a 75.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,186 shares of company stock worth $6,345,115 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

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.