The following are the top rated Health Care stocks according to Validea's P/E/Growth Investor model based on the published strategy of Peter Lynch. This strategy looks for stocks trading at a reasonable price relative to earnings growth that also possess strong balance sheets.
ENSIGN GROUP INC (ENSG) is a mid-cap growth stock in the Healthcare Facilities industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Peter Lynch is 69% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
Company Description: The Ensign Group, Inc. is a holding company with independent subsidiaries that provide skilled nursing, senior living and rehabilitative services, as well as other ancillary businesses (including mobile diagnostics and medical transportation). Its segments include Skilled Services and Standard Bearer. Skilled services segment includes the operation of skilled nursing facilities and rehabilitation therapy services. Standard Bearer segment consists of select properties owned by the Company through its real estate investment trust and leased to skilled nursing and senior living operations, including its own operating subsidiaries and third-party operators. It offers services at 312 healthcare facilities in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin. It also acquires, leases and owns healthcare real estate to service the post-acute care continuum through acquisition and investment opportunities.
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.
| P/E/GROWTH RATIO: | PASS |
| SALES AND P/E RATIO: | PASS |
| INVENTORY TO SALES: | FAIL |
| EPS GROWTH RATE: | PASS |
| TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | NEUTRAL |
| NET CASH POSITION: | NEUTRAL |
Detailed Analysis of ENSIGN GROUP INC
About Peter Lynch: Perhaps the greatest mutual fund manager of all-time, Lynch guided Fidelity Investment's Magellan Fund to a 29.2 percent average annual return from 1977 until his retirement in 1990, almost doubling the S&P 500's 15.8 percent yearly return over that time. Lynch's common sense approach and quick wit made him one of the most quoted investors on Wall Street. ("Go for a business that any idiot can run -- because sooner or later, any idiot probably is going to run it," is one of his many pearls of wisdom.) Lynch's bestseller One Up on Wall Street is something of a "stocks for the everyman/everywoman", breaking his approach down into easy-to-understand concepts.
About Validea: Validea is aninvestment researchservice that follows the published strategies of investment legends. Validea offers both stock analysis and model portfolios based on gurus who have outperformed the market over the long-term, including Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch and Martin Zweig. For more information about Validea, click here
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
