Allianz Asset Management GmbH Reduces Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH significantly reduced its stake in Essent Group Ltd. by 71.8% during the 1st quarter, ending with 12,510 shares valued at approximately $722,000.
• Essent Group's recent performance showed an EPS of $1.69, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $317.56 million for the last reported quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.2%, after a recent increase in dividend payments.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lowered its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 71.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,510 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 31,835 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Essent Group were worth $722,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ESNT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the fourth quarter worth about $69,364,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Essent Group by 1,272.6% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 970,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $56,044,000 after acquiring an additional 900,229 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Essent Group by 43.2% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,709,029 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $93,040,000 after acquiring an additional 515,171 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC boosted its position in Essent Group by 144.8% during the fourth quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 846,169 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,065,000 after acquiring an additional 500,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Essent Group by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,966,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $107,038,000 after acquiring an additional 445,012 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:ESNT traded up $0.53 on Friday, hitting $56.52. The stock had a trading volume of 669,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 814,718. The stock has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.28, a PEG ratio of 8.25 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $58.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.32. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $51.61 and a 1-year high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $317.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $311.18 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 57.29% and a return on equity of 12.98%. Essent Group's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.16%.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,999 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $119,940.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 251,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,061,380. This represents a 0.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total transaction of $146,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 27,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,608,788.35. This represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,740 shares of company stock worth $581,386. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESNT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.71.

Essent Group Company Profile

Essent Group Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides private mortgage insurance and reinsurance for mortgages secured by residential properties located in the United States. Its mortgage insurance products include primary, pool, and master policy. The company also provides information technology maintenance and development services; customer support-related services; underwriting consulting; and contract underwriting services, as well as risk management products and title insurance and settlement services.