The Ensign Group and Healthpeak Properties detailed second-quarter 2024 earnings results on Friday calls with investors and analysts.

The Ensign Group

Ensign Group CEO Barry Port said the San Juan Capistrano, CA-based company had a record quarter and was “very pleased to see growth over the prior year quarter in occupancy and skilled mix days in our same store and transitioning operations, particularly in our managed care population.”

Same store-occupancy in the portfolio for the quarter reached 80.8%, which is 2.8% more than in the same quarter in 2023.

The company continued to add to its properties throughout the quarter. 

Chief Investment Officer and Executive Vice President Chad Keetch said that the company was “excited” about 10 new operations and six real estate assets added during the quarter, bringing the total number of operations acquired so far this year to 15.

The recent acquisitions:

  • Creekview Health and Rehabilitation, a 78-bed skilled nursing facility in Knoxville, TN;
  • Foothills Transitional Care and Rehabilitation, a 135-bed SNF in Maryville, TN;
  • Midlothian Healthcare Center, a 120-bed SNF in Midlothian, TX; and
  • The Springs at St. Andrews Village, a 58-bed SNF in Aurora, CO.

Standard Bearer, Ensign’s captive real estate investment trust, also announced the following real estate acquisitions, all of which are operated by an Ensign affiliate effective as of the acquisition date:

  • River Park Post Acute and Elmwood Senior Living, a healthcare campus with 66 skilled nursing beds, 45 assisted living units and 119 independent living units in Chandler, AZ;
  • Hillside Village of De Soto Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, a healthcare campus with 49 skilled nursing beds and 38 assisted living units in De Soto, KS;
  • Spencer Post Acute Rehabilitation Center, an 82-bed SNF in Spencer, IA;
  • South Davis Specialty Care, a 95-bed skilled nursing operation in Bountiful, UT;
  • Western Peaks Specialty Hospital and South Davis Community Hospital Child Care Center, a 33-bed long-term acute care hospital and 10 pediatric LTAC beds and a day child care center in Bountiful, UT; and
  • Wellsprings of Gilbert, a 32 bed SNF in Gilbert, AZ.

“We continue to see a very healthy pipeline of new acquisition opportunities and are making progress on several additions that we expect to close in the third and fourth quarters,” Keetch said.

Ensign’s portfolio now includes 312 healthcare operations, 29 of which also include senior living operations, across 14 states. The company now owns 120 real estate assets, 90 of which it operates. 

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Suzanne Snapper noted that Ensign’s liquidity includes approximately $477.3 million of cash on hand and $573.1 million of available capacity under its line of credit. 

Healthpeak Properties

On its own earnings call, Healthpeak Properties Chief Financial Officer Peter Scott said that the REIT’s 15-property continuing care retirement communities segment “had a pretty good first half of the year.”

In the second quarter, the CCRC segment saw same-store growth of 2%, driven by 200 basis points of occupancy growth and rate growth of 7%.

President and CEO Scott Brinker said that the Denver-based REIT anticipates deceleration of CCRCs in the second half of the year “just because you’re not going to continue at a 20%-plus clip.”

CFO Scott added: “Our expectation is not to hit 20% growth.…But we still feel pretty confident about our full-year growth expectations for that segment. In fact, we’re doing a lot better than what our original expectations were.”

Healthpeak reported a net income loss of $160,000 for the segment with a total adjusted net operating income of approximately $33.7 million. The REIT said that its income tax expense increased for the first and second quarters, “primarily as a result of an increase in operating income associated with our CCRCs.”

July 24, the Healthpeak Board declared a quarterly common stock cash dividend of $0.30 per share, to be paid on Aug. 16 to stockholders of record as of the close of business Aug. 5.

In a quarterly report filed Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Healthpeak reported that as of June 30, it held $53 million in notes related to loans provided to CCRC residents “to satisfy the entrance fee requirements so that they are able to move into a community while still continuing the process of selling their previous home.” The amount marks an increase of the $43 million in notes it held for such purposes as of Dec. 31. A loan is due when a resident sells his or her previous home.

Also as of June 30, Healthpeak told the SEC, it no longer has a commitment to provide additional financing for capital expenditure to the buyer of the 32 Sunrise Senior Living communities it sold for $664 million in January 2021. Healthpeak said it had been providing financing to the buyer, on which the buyer had been making principal payments. The loan matured in February, and the buyer refinanced and extended the maturity date to August 2027.

“In connection with the refinance, the additional financing was reduced to $1 million, all of which was funded in February 2024,” Healthpeak said. “Therefore, at June 30, 2024, the Company no longer has a commitment to provide the borrower with additional financing for capital expenditures. In May 2024, the Company received a partial principal repayment of $5 million in conjunction with the disposition of the underlying collateral. At June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, this secured loan had an outstanding principal balance of $58 million and $131 million, respectively.”

Also, Healthpeak reported that a loan secured in conjunction with the sale of 16 additional senior housing operating portfolio properties operated by Capital Senior Living (now called Sonida Senior Living), Atria Senior Living and Life Care Services for $230 million in January 2021 had an outstanding principal balance of $48 million at both June 30, 2024, and Dec. 31, 2023.