VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New $2.44 Million Investment in The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 15,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,442,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in The Ensign Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $134,660,000. Dockside LLC bought a new position in The Ensign Group in the second quarter worth about $2,180,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 126,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,982,000 after purchasing an additional 17,225 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 10.7% during the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,278,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $365,215,000 after buying an additional 220,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ABN AMRO Bank N.V. purchased a new stake in shares of The Ensign Group during the second quarter valued at about $937,000. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity at The Ensign Group

In other news, Director John Agwunobi sold 392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total value of $67,055.52. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,625,583.18. This represents a 3.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 4.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The Ensign Group Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of ENSG stock opened at $172.79 on Friday. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.58 and a fifty-two week high of $218.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a PE ratio of 27.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $175.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.66.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 16.75% and a net margin of 6.90%.The company’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.59 earnings per share. The Ensign Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.750-7.850 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. 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 presently 4.08%.

About The Ensign Group

The Ensign Group, Inc (NASDAQ: ENSG) is a healthcare services company that provides post-acute and senior care through a network of independently operated subsidiaries. Its businesses primarily focus on skilled nursing, rehabilitation and transitional care for patients recovering from illness, injury or surgery, as well as long-term care for seniors and individuals with complex medical needs.

The company also operates or supports assisted living, independent living, memory care, home health and hospice services in selected markets.