Sapient Capital LLC Purchases New Stake in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG)

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 1,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ENSG. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Ensign Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $168,000. Westover Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of The Ensign Group by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC now owns 22,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,535,000 after buying an additional 1,101 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Ensign Group by 333.1% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 443 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its holdings in The Ensign Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 13,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,567,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. acquired a new position in shares of The Ensign Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $266,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at The Ensign Group

In other news, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 10,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.56, for a total transaction of $1,269,648.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 147,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,328,344. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Christopher R. Christensen sold 10,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.56, for a total transaction of $1,269,648.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 147,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,328,344. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daren Shaw sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.67, for a total value of $718,020.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 31,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,754,646.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,263 shares of company stock valued at $3,735,086. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on The Ensign Group from $112.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of The Ensign Group from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Two equities 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 stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.60.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

Shares of ENSG opened at $117.95 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.71 billion, a PE ratio of 31.04, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $121.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $114.80. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.14 and a 52 week high of $127.57.

The Ensign Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is presently 6.32%.

The Ensign Group Company Profile

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.