Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Bought by Alps Advisors Inc.

Alps Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 7.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,465 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,465 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. owned 0.14% of Essent Group worth $8,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 53.3% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 70,740 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,851,000 after acquiring an additional 1,680 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,456,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 27,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,514,000 after acquiring an additional 4,474 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Essent Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 208,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,377,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,999 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $119,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 251,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,061,380. The trade was a 0.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total transaction of $179,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 27,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,624,467. This trade represents a 9.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,740 shares of company stock valued at $581,386. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT stock traded down $0.81 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $55.96. 1,261,657 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 672,393. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $51.61 and a one year high of $65.34. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $58.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $317.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $311.18 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 57.29%. Essent Group's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Essent Group's payout ratio is 18.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on ESNT. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays upped their target price on Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Monday. Compass Point set a $69.00 target price on shares of Essent Group and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.