Candriam S.C.A. Acquires 188,679 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 264.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 259,917 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 188,679 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. owned about 0.45% of The Ensign Group worth $52,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ENSG. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group increased its stake in The Ensign Group by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 1,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Ensign Group

In other The Ensign Group news, Director John O. Agwunobi sold 392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.97, for a total value of $78,388.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,295 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,721.15. This trade represents a 4.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.28, for a total value of $114,996.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 21,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,507,706.56. The trade was a 3.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,892 shares of company stock valued at $340,591. 4.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered The Ensign Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded The Ensign Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 14th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered The Ensign Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.75.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

ENSG opened at $168.59 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $166.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $184.30. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $134.79 and a twelve month high of $218.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $9.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.46, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.69.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.06. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.89% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. The Ensign Group’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.480-7.620 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.23%.

The Ensign Group Profile

The Ensign Group, Inc is a diversified provider of post-acute healthcare services in the United States, operating a network of skilled nursing, assisted living, independent living, home health and hospice care centers. The company’s model emphasizes integrated care by employing multidisciplinary teams—including nursing staff, therapists and physicians—to deliver personalized rehabilitation and long-term care services for seniors and other patients recovering from injury, illness or surgery.

Through its owned and managed centers, The Ensign Group offers a broad spectrum of rehabilitation services such as physical, occupational and speech therapy.