Ensign Group Acquires Four Skilled Nursing Facilities in North Texas, One in Arizona

The Ensign Group (Nasdaq: ENSG) acquired the operations of four skilled nursing facilities in Dallas, effective December 1, in addition to picking up the real estate and operations of another SNF in Mesa, Ariz.

The four Dallas properties include the Crestwood Health and Rehabilitation Center, which has 112 skilled nursing beds and 72 assisted living beds; the 190-bed Beacon Harbor Healthcare and Rehabilitation; the 150-bed Rowlett Health and Rehabilitation Center; and the 126-bed Pleasant Manor Healthcare and Rehabilitation.

The operations will add to some of the San Juan Capistrano, Calif.-based operator’s strongest markets, Ensign CEO Barry Port noted in a Tuesday statement announcing the acquisitions.

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“Together with Ensign’s existing operations in the Dallas area, these new additions strengthen our local clusters and will magnify our ability to provide top-quality care to the patients and families we serve,” he said.

The Arizona acquisition, the 160-bed SNF Mission Palms Post Acute, was also effective December 1. Port noted in that press release that Ensign has been “eager to acquire an operation in Mesa for many years.”

“We have been very impressed with the team of caregivers at Mission Palms and we look forward to providing additional resources to support them as they strive to meet the needs of the local community,” Forrest Peterson, president of Bandera Healthcare, Inc. — Ensign’s Arizona-based subsidiary — said in a separate statement announcing that deal.

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The acquisitions continue a streak of SNF pickups for Ensign, bringing its total portfolio to 213 skilled nursing operations across 13 states.

Last month, Ensign picked up half a dozen SNFs in two different Texas transactions: three in San Antonio, and three in Harlingen, Keller, and New Braunfels. On its most recent earnings call, executives reiterated their confidence in the operator’s capacity to keep growing, citing multiple successful turnaround projects.

This was the case even after it spun out its home health, hospice, and senior living business into a separate company called The Pennant Group (Nasdaq: PNTG) back in October.

“We believe we are on a path to make up for all of Pennant’s 2019 earnings by the end of 2020, and that we haven’t even come close to reaching our full potential,” Port said on the third-quarter earnings call.

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