Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Purchases 88,643 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 54.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 252,294 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 88,643 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.44% of The Ensign Group worth $33,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 6,931 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 67.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 13,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,038,000 after buying an additional 5,632 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 379,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,595,000 after buying an additional 78,570 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in The Ensign Group by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 70,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,201,000 after buying an additional 3,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in The Ensign Group during the 4th quarter valued at $1,099,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ENSG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on The Ensign Group from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Macquarie increased 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 39,086 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.52, for a total value 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 represents a 75.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,486 shares of company stock valued at $6,251,714 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

Shares of ENSG opened at $132.25 on Thursday. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $113.27 and a 12-month high of $158.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $7.60 billion, a PE ratio of 25.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $131.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.63.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 6.99%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.19%. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is 4.89%.

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.