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Ensign Group (ENSG) Facility Buyout to Boost Colorado Foothold

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The Ensign Group, Inc. (ENSG - Free Report) recently purchased the operations of two skilled nursing facilities in Colorado. The transactions, which are subject to a long-term, triple net lease, were effective from Dec 1.

The first facility comprises 108 beds and is situated in Brighton, whereas the second, equipped with 162 beds, is located in Northglenn. These acquisitions reflect ENSG’s focus on bringing about better health outcomes in its operational markets and solidifying its presence in Colorado.

In order to complement its endeavor, the addition of the credible healthcare expertise of the two acquired facilities will be of great help to Ensign Group’s clinical and operational team. Working closely with a solid team of caregivers present at each of the acquired facilities enables ENSG to gain in-depth knowledge about the local communities to serve them better.

The twin buyouts pursued by Ensign Group are expected to bolster its healthcare portfolio, taking the total count of healthcare operations within its portfolio to 271 covering 13 U.S. states. The senior living operations’ count of 26 also forms part of its total healthcare operations suite. Subsidiaries of ENSG (which also involve Standard Bearer) hold 108 real-estate assets.

Initiatives similar to the latest one are likely to provide an impetus to revenues of the ENSG’s Skilled Services segment, through which it provides skilled nursing and senior living services, physical, occupational and speech therapies as well as other rehabilitative and healthcare services. The segment’s revenues improved 14.7% from the prior-year comparable period to $2,128.6 million in the first nine months of 2022.

Ensign Group follows an aggressive inorganic growth strategy and multiple buyouts which were pursued almost every month of this year bears testament to this fact. Apart from expanding its healthcare portfolio and strengthening its U.S. foothold, each facility buyout upgrades ENSG’s capabilities and enables it to extend its high-quality healthcare services.

With no mood to slow its expansion growth, management keeps an eye on detecting opportunistic real-estate buyouts. It also aims to lease robust and struggling skilled nursing, assisted living and other healthcare-linked businesses across the United States.

Shares of Ensign Group have gained 20.7% in a year compared with the industry’s rally of 6.6%.

Zacks Investment Research
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Zacks Rank & Key Picks

ENSG currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the Medical space are Medpace Holdings, Inc. (MEDP - Free Report) , Genmab A/S (GMAB - Free Report) and Assertio Holdings, Inc. (ASRT - Free Report) . While Medpace sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Genmab and Asserio carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Medpace’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average beat being 22.04%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MEDP’s 2022 earnings suggests an improvement of 44.9%, while the same for revenues indicates growth of 27.1% from the respective year-ago reported figures. The consensus mark for MEDP’s 2022 earnings has moved 13.1% north in the past 60 days.

The bottom line of Genmab outpaced estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 66.61%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GMAB’s 2022 earnings suggests an improvement of 79.2%, while the same for revenues indicates growth of 38.2% from the respective year-ago reported figures. The consensus mark for GMAB’s 2022 earnings has moved 27.7% north in the past 30 days.

Assertio’s earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed the mark once, the average being 54.96%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ASRT’s 2022 earnings is pegged at 52 cents per share.

A loss of 3 cents per share was reported in the prior year. The same for revenues suggests an improvement of 27.7% from the year-ago reported figure. The consensus mark for ASRT’s 2022 earnings has moved 2% north in the past 30 days.

Shares of Medpace, Genmab and Assertio have gained 1.9%, 27.4% and 125%, respectively, in a year.

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