Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT Shares Sold by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. has reduced its stake in Essent Group Ltd. by 14.4%, owning approximately 1.62% of the company, valued at $97.15 million.
• Essent Group reported $1.93 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.68, with a year-over-year revenue growth of 2.0%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, reflecting a yield of 2.0%, to be paid on September 10th.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 14.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,683,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 283,025 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 1.62% of Essent Group worth $97,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $993,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its stake in Essent Group by 280.5% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 10,328 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 7,614 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the first quarter valued at $332,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Essent Group by 16.6% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Essent Group by 66.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, Director William Spiegel sold 6,451 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.74, for a total transaction of $404,735.74. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,647,050.48. The trade was a 19.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 3,760 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total transaction of $233,120.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 247,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,315,426. This trade represents a 1.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,950 shares of company stock worth $919,651 over the last three months. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Essent Group Stock Performance

ESNT traded down $0.70 during trading on Thursday, hitting $62.91. The stock had a trading volume of 438,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 616,093. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.18, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. 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 price is $59.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.73.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. Essent Group had a net margin of 56.36% and a return on equity of 12.66%. The business had revenue of $319.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on ESNT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $60.00 target price on Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Compass Point reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, DOWLING & PARTN lowered shares of Essent Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.67.

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.