Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $31.98 Million Stock Holdings in The Ensign Group, Inc. $ENSG

Posted by Brian Himes on Jul 20th, 2026

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG – Free Report) by 2.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 158,713 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,510 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in The Ensign Group were worth $31,981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ENSG. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in shares of The Ensign Group by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 94,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,092,000 after buying an additional 7,878 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 0.4% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 14,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,912,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in The Ensign Group by 2,050.7% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 26,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,270,000 after acquiring an additional 24,937 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. grew its stake in The Ensign Group by 264.9% in the first quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 259,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,373,000 after acquiring an additional 188,679 shares during the period. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in The Ensign Group in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.12% of the company’s stock.

The Ensign Group Stock Performance

Shares of ENSG stock opened at $171.28 on Monday. The Ensign Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $134.79 and a 12 month high of $218.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $165.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.07. The firm has a market cap of $10.01 billion, a PE ratio of 27.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.69. 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 business had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. Equities research analysts expect that The Ensign Group, Inc. will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Ensign Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The Ensign Group’s payout ratio is currently 4.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial dropped their price target on The Ensign Group from $215.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Zacks Research lowered The Ensign Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen raised The Ensign Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of The Ensign Group in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of The Ensign Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Ensign Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $213.50.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on ENSG

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Barry M. Smith sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.28, for a total transaction of $114,996.00. Following the sale, the director owned 21,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,507,706.56. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 4.00% of the company’s stock.

The Ensign Group Profile

(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.