Westover Capital Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Westover Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,596 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,101 shares during the quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $2,535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 1,000,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,020,000 after buying an additional 121,432 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 788,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,275,000 after buying an additional 61,127 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 750,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,734,000 after buying an additional 23,215 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 25.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 725,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,379,000 after purchasing an additional 147,698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in The Ensign Group by 30.4% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 332,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,863,000 after purchasing an additional 77,511 shares during the last quarter. 96.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ENSG has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on The Ensign Group from $112.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on The Ensign Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daren Shaw sold 4,463 shares of The Ensign Group stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.96, for a total value of $530,918.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 32,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,836,460. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other The Ensign Group news, Director Daren Shaw sold 4,463 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.96, for a total transaction of $530,918.48. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 32,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,836,460. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Beverly B. Wittekind sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.65, for a total value of $1,216,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 37,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,611,994.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 89,245 shares of company stock valued at $10,579,862 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

The Ensign Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ENSG traded down $3.24 during trading on Thursday, reaching $116.21. The company had a trading volume of 305,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 268,333. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.14 and a twelve month high of $127.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.61 billion, a PE ratio of 31.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $121.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $114.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17. The company had revenue of $980.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $975.13 million. The Ensign Group had a return on equity of 17.84% and a net margin of 5.61%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were given a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.21%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. The Ensign Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.56%.

About The Ensign Group

The Ensign Group, Inc provides skilled nursing, senior living, and rehabilitative services. It operates through two segments: Skilled Services and Standard Bearer. The company's Skilled Services segment engages in the operation of skilled nursing facilities and rehabilitation therapy services for patients with chronic conditions, prolonged illness, and the elderly; and offers nursing facilities including specialty care, such as on-site dialysis, ventilator care, cardiac, and pulmonary management, as well as standard services comprising room and board, special nutritional programs, social services, recreational activities, entertainment, and other services.