Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 107,689 Shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 20.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 630,380 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 107,689 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 1.09% of The Ensign Group worth $109,812,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ENSG. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,569,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $795,964,000 after buying an additional 1,750,645 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of The Ensign Group during the 4th quarter valued at $134,660,000. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Ensign Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $78,840,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 195.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 513,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,688,000 after buying an additional 339,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,558,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,961,000 after buying an additional 199,983 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ENSG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut The Ensign Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research cut The Ensign Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.75.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ENSG opened at $151.65 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.79 and a 52-week high of $218.00. The firm has a market cap of $8.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.70, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s fifty day moving average is $182.02 and its 200 day moving average is $187.26.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company 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 posted $1.52 EPS. The firm’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. Research analysts predict that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 6.79 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is presently 4.23%.

Trending Headlines about The Ensign Group

Here are the key news stories impacting The Ensign Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks noted that investors are still holding the stock because Ensign continues to benefit from rising occupancy, acquisitions, real estate growth, strong cash flow, and low debt, supporting the long-term investment case.
• Neutral Sentiment: Ensign also had a prior business update showing solid revenue growth and earnings that beat estimates, which may help cushion some of the recent pressure, though that older backdrop is being overshadowed by the investigation news.
• Negative Sentiment: Rosen Law Firm announced a securities class-action investigation into whether The Ensign Group issued materially misleading information to investors, adding to legal overhang. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Schall Law Firm opened a fraud investigation into ENSG, while Johnson Fistel and Levi & Korsinsky also launched separate securities-law reviews, increasing the chance of prolonged legal costs and uncertainty. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Several June 9–10 alerts from Ademi LLP, Block & Leviton, SueWallSt, and Frank R. Cruz highlighted possible securities fraud tied to alleged misstatements about financials, operations, and the short-seller claims, reinforcing the bearish tone around the shares.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John O. Agwunobi sold 392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.97, for a total transaction of $78,388.24. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,721.15. The trade was a 4.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.28, for a total value of $114,996.00. Following the sale, the director owned 21,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,507,706.56. The trade was a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 have sold 2,592 shares of company stock worth $478,246. 4.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.