Average occupancy for the nursing home sector grew slightly to 80.5% towards year-end, posting a 10-basis-point increase month over month.

Over the course of last year, occupancy levels showed a recovery back to pre-pandemic levels.

Moreover, according to Stephens Inc.’s latest figures updated through Dec. 1 and released Wednesday, average occupancy for two large sector players that Stephens’ analysts track more closely for occupancy, there was some disparity.

Occupancy levels for Ensign Group (Nasdaq: ENSG) moderated to approximately 80.7%, dropping 20 bps from November. Meanwhile, occupancy levels for facilities run by PACS Group (NYSE: PACS) grew to 88.6%, showing a slight gain of 50 bps month over month.

Ensign’s occupancy expanded month-over-month in 9 of its 14 states while PACS’s occupancy rose in 8 of its 15 SNF states, the analysts noted.

The occupancy rate update incorporates recent deals involving the two nursing home giants, including Ensign’s October deal for a skilled nursing facility (SNF) acquired in Nevada and PACS’s November deal involving eight SNFs in Pennsylvania.

However, Ensign’s joint venture with CareTrust (NYSE: CTRE) involving eight Tennessee facilities and an Alabama-based facility, which closed in January are not included in the occupancy level numbers for December. These figures are also not reflective of another pending deal for Ensign, in which the California-based provider agreed to acquire eight SNFs across Arkansas, California, Oregon and Washington.

Meanwhile, PACS’ levels don’t take into account the joint venture with CareTrust, which involves 11 Tennessee-based facilities.

For now, Stephens is maintaining its projections for fourth quarter occupancy levels. For Ensign, analysts expect an increase of 20 bps to 81.1%. For PACS, they expect levels to remain flat at 90.3%.

This data is based on Stephens’ proprietary SNF Tracker, which covers 15,000 facilities and 1.5 million beds.