Higher occupancy and “disciplined” acquisition strategies have put two major skilled nursing players in a growth mindset.

Both the Ensign Group Inc. and Omega Healthcare Investors used their second-quarter earnings calls to trumpet early 2019 successes and prime investors for a flurry of additional activity. 

The Ensign Group Inc. registered year-over-year record diluted earnings of $0.51 per share, a 27.8% increase in adjusted net income and a 272-basis point rise in skilled nursing occupancy. 

Revenues of $575.6 million topped expectations by more than $1.4 million.

“Our organic growth this quarter has again come from the steady improvement in the organization’s most mature operations, as well as an increasingly positive contribution from our transitioning and newly acquired operations,” CEO Barry Port said.

Recent acquisitions lifted the provider’s holdings to more than 200 facilities.

Ensign executives said progress continues toward an October 1 spin-off of home health, hospice and most senior living business into a separate, publicly-traded company.

Meanwhile, Omega outlined early third-quarter deals that included the purchase of 58 skilled nursing facilities and two assisted living facilities for $735 million. With 6,590 operating beds in eight states, those facilities are projected to generate $64 million in rent in 2020.

Omega also spent $24.9 million on three SNFs with 320 beds in Virginia and North Carolina. As of June 30, the company had 930 facilities operated by 75 different partners and is approaching 93,000 beds in 40 states and the United Kingdom.

“We’ve been clear in our intention to move back to our traditional accretic growth model in 2019,” Chief Executive Officer Taylor Pickett said. “We are executing on that plan.”