Alps Advisors Inc. Buys 10,465 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Alps Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 145,465 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,465 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Essent Group worth $8,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ESNT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Essent Group by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,367,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $673,265,000 after acquiring an additional 432,034 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Essent Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,168,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $281,382,000 after acquiring an additional 200,284 shares in the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc raised its holdings in Essent Group by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,700,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $146,988,000 after acquiring an additional 350,000 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Essent Group by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,370,484 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $129,049,000 after acquiring an additional 221,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Essent Group by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,966,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $107,038,000 after acquiring an additional 445,012 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total value of $179,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 27,165 shares in the company, valued at $1,624,467. This trade represents a 9.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,999 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $119,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 251,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,061,380. The trade was a 0.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,740 shares of company stock worth $581,386 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of ESNT traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $56.45. The company had a trading volume of 637,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 751,081. The company has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.81. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $65.33. The company's 50-day moving average is $58.92 and its 200-day moving average is $57.20.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 57.29%. Essent Group's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESNT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Compass Point set a $69.00 price target on Essent Group and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $67.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.