Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 29,636 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC cut its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 11.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 220,721 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 29,636 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 0.21% of Essent Group worth $12,855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ESNT. AdvisorNet Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Essent Group by 330.6% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Essent Group by 20.2% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESNT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Compass Point set a $69.00 price target on shares of Essent Group and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $65.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.57.

Essent Group Trading Down 3.3%

Shares of ESNT traded down $2.07 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $59.83. 632,650 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 664,583. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $51.61 and a 52 week high of $65.34. The company has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.76, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.81.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.03. The business 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Essent Group's payout ratio is 18.16%.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

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

About Essent Group

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.