Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Trims Stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its stake in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 11.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 960,573 shares of the company’s stock after selling 130,265 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.64% of The Ensign Group worth $193,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 9.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 161,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,956,000 after purchasing an additional 14,590 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in The Ensign Group by 150.3% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 65.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 480,216.7% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 57,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,583,000 after buying an additional 57,626 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 26.1% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 421 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

The Ensign Group Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:ENSG opened at $172.99 on Friday. 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 Ensign Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.58 and a 52-week high of $218.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $165.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $183.85. The company has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.69.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.06. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 16.78% and a net margin of 6.89%.The business had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is presently 4.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on ENSG. Zacks Research lowered The Ensign Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings cut The Ensign Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of The Ensign Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of The Ensign Group from $215.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Ensign Group

In related news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.28, for a total transaction of $114,996.00. Following the sale, the director owned 21,352 shares in the company, valued at $3,507,706.56. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 4.00% of the company’s stock.

About The Ensign Group

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.