The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Makes New Investment in The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 39,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,368,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Ensign Group in the second quarter worth $937,218,000. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 6.0% during the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,558,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $548,961,000 after acquiring an additional 199,983 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in The Ensign Group by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,498,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,107,000 after purchasing an additional 49,117 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in The Ensign Group by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,332,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,124,000 after purchasing an additional 118,110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in The Ensign Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,090,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,033,000 after purchasing an additional 5,458 shares in the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered The Ensign Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on The Ensign Group from $202.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded The Ensign Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $228.00 price objective on shares of The Ensign Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.25.

Insider Activity at The Ensign Group

In other The Ensign Group news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.28, for a total transaction of $114,996.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 21,352 shares in the company, valued at $3,507,706.56. This trade represents a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John O. Agwunobi sold 392 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total transaction of $67,055.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,625,583.18. This represents a 3.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 4.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

The Ensign Group stock opened at $172.98 on Monday. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a one year low of $141.58 and a one year high of $218.00. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $173.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $10.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.11, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.68.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.44 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 16.75% and a net margin of 6.90%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.59 earnings per share. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.750-7.850 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is 4.08%.

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.