The Ensign Group Inc. (ENSG) will raise its quarterly dividend by 5.6 percent to $0.0475 per share in the fourth quarter of 2018. This will mark the 16th consecutive year of dividend increases by the skilled nursing services company.

The increased dividend is payable on or before January 31, 2019, to shareholders of record as of December 31, 2018.

“We are pleased to announce our sixteenth consecutive annual dividend increase, which reflects our strong market position and continued commitment to return value to our shareholders,” commented Christopher Christensen, Ensign's President and Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to continued growth and are optimistic about our long-term prospects,” he added.

The Ensign Group, Inc.'s provides skilled nursing and assisted living services, physical, occupational and speech therapies, home health and hospice services and other rehabilitative and healthcare services at healthcare facilities, hospice agencies, home health agencies and home care businesses in California, Arizona, Texas, Washington, Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Nevada, Iowa, Nebraska, Oregon, Wisconsin, Kansas, South Carolina, and Oklahoma. Ensign has been a dividend-paying company since 2002.