Barry Smith Sells 700 Shares of The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG) Stock

May 7, 2026 by InsiderTrades.com

Key Points

Director Barry Smith sold 700 shares of NASDAQ:ENSG on May 4 at an average price of $182.21 under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, trimming his ownership by 3.08% to 22,052 shares (worth about $4.02M).
Q1 results and guidance: Ensign reported $1.85 EPS (vs. $1.79 expected) with revenue up 18.4% YoY to $1.39B, set FY2026 guidance of $7.48–$7.62 EPS, and carries an average analyst target of $216.75 with a "Moderate Buy" consensus.
Market profile: The company has roughly a $10.3B market cap, a P/E of 28.65, a ~0.1% dividend yield, and about 96% of shares are held by institutional investors.

The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) Director Barry Smith sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.21, for a total transaction of $127,547.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 22,052 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,018,094.92. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

The Ensign Group Stock Down 0.0%

The Ensign Group stock opened at $175.93 on Thursday. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $133.81 and a twelve month high of $218.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $200.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.39. The company has a market capitalization of $10.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

The Ensign Group (NASDAQ:ENSG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.06. The Ensign Group had a net margin of 6.89% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The firm had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. The company's revenue 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 6.79 EPS for the current year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. The Ensign Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 4.23%.

Institutional Trading of The Ensign Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dorsey Wright & Associates lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 52,247 shares of the company's stock worth $10,528,000 after purchasing an additional 20,914 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 35.1% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,469 shares of the company's stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 42,377 shares of the company's stock worth $8,539,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 25,181 shares of the company's stock worth $5,074,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in The Ensign Group by 4,525.0% in the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,850 shares of the company's stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,810 shares in 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 topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research cut shares of The Ensign Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of The Ensign Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group set a $230.00 price target on shares of The Ensign Group and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $222.00 price target (up from $206.00) on shares of The Ensign Group in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $216.75.

Read Our Latest Report on The Ensign Group

About The Ensign Group

(Get Free Report)

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.