Ensign Group's (ENSG) Buyout To Expand Business In Utah

The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG) recently announced that it has completed the acquisition of the real estate and operations of Bella Terra Cedar City, a skilled nursing facility with 120 nursing beds in Cedar City, UT. The buyout was effective Jan 1, 2019.

The acquirer, looking to establish further in Cedar City, is really hopeful about the outcome of this buyout. Ensign Group is expecting to meet the local community needs with the combination of its expertise in this field and the trained team of caregivers at Bella Terra.

This purchase is Ensign Group’s another strategic initiative to boost its capabilities. It adds to its expanding portfolio, consisting of 189 skilled nursing operations. Of this, 24 are assisted living operations, 56 assisted and independent living operations, 22 are hospice agencies, 24 home health agencies and seven are home care businesses across 16 US states.

The company boasts a strong inorganic growth story with more than 234 transactions made over a span of 18 years. The company has expertise in acquiring real estate or leasing post-acute care operations and transforming the same into market leaders. With each acquisition, the company has honed its expertise, both clinically and financially.

The company’s growth strategies and acquisitions have driven it top line which has been growing since 2012. Revenues have witnessed a five-year CAGR (2012-17) of 17.6%. The same was up 10.4% year over year in the first nine months of 2018.

Currently, the company is aggressively seeking opportunities to buy real estate and lease well-performing and struggling skilled nursing, assisted living and other healthcare related businesses across the United States.

Shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have soared 58.4% in a year’s time against its industry’s decline of 0.4%.

Stocks to Consider

Investors interested in the medical sector can check out some better-ranked stocks like Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) , Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) and Anthem, Inc. (NYSE:ANTM) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Molina offers Medicaid-related solutions to meet the health care needs of low-income families and individuals. In the last four reported quarters, the company delivered average four-quarter beat of 82.55%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Humana operates as a health and well-being company in the United States. It came up with average four-quarter earnings surprise of 4.73%.

Anthem operates as a health benefits company in the United States. The company managed to pull off average trailing four-quarter positive surprise of 5.11%.

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