Earnings Update: The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) Just Reported Its First-Quarter Results And Analysts Are Updating Their Forecasts

Investors in The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) had a good week, as its shares rose 2.6% to close at US$128 following the release of its quarterly results. It looks like the results were a bit of a negative overall. While revenues of US$1.2b were in line with analyst predictions, statutory earnings were less than expected, missing estimates by 4.2% to hit US$1.37 per share. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on Ensign Group after the latest results.

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After the latest results, the five analysts covering Ensign Group are now predicting revenues of US$4.91b in 2025. If met, this would reflect a decent 11% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to expand 11% to US$6.01. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$4.87b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$5.98 in 2025. So it's pretty clear that, although the analysts have updated their estimates, there's been no major change in expectations for the business following the latest results.

See our latest analysis for Ensign Group

There were no changes to revenue or earnings estimates or the price target of US$166, suggesting that the company has met expectations in its recent result. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so - it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. There are some variant perceptions on Ensign Group, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$177 and the most bearish at US$155 per share. Even so, with a relatively close grouping of estimates, it looks like the analysts are quite confident in their valuations, suggesting Ensign Group is an easy business to forecast or the the analysts are all using similar assumptions.

Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. The period to the end of 2025 brings more of the same, according to the analysts, with revenue forecast to display 15% growth on an annualised basis. That is in line with its 15% annual growth over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to see their revenues grow 7.0% per year. So it's pretty clear that Ensign Group is forecast to grow substantially faster than its industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that there's been no major change in sentiment, with the analysts reconfirming that the business is performing in line with their previous earnings per share estimates. Fortunately, they also reconfirmed their revenue numbers, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Additionally, our data suggests that revenue is expected to grow faster than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at US$166, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. We have forecasts for Ensign Group going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Another thing to consider is whether management and directors have been buying or selling stock recently. We provide an overview of all open market stock trades for the last twelve months on our platform, here.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.