Bank of America Corp DE Acquires New Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 384,967 Essent Group shares worth approximately $24.7 million during the second quarter, giving it a 0.43% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 93% of ESNT.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with three Buy ratings and six Holds. The average price target is $71.86, while recent targets range from $72 to $80.
• Essent reported quarterly EPS of $2.08 on $362.7 million in revenue and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.35, equivalent to a 2.1% yield. Insiders have sold nearly 110,000 shares worth about $7.5 million over the past 90 days.

Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 384,967 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $24,746,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.43% of Essent Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Essent Group by 97.1% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 676 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 790.6% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 757 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Essent Group by 111.8% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 879 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Essent Group in the second quarter valued at $55,000. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ESNT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Essent Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Essent Group from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Tuesday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Roth Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Essent Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $71.86.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $65.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $55.34 and a one year high of $70.37. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $67.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.76.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter. Essent Group had a return on equity of 11.91% and a net margin of 51.45%.The firm had revenue of $362.69 million during the quarter. Analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 14,175 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $992,250.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 184,274 shares in the company, valued at $12,899,180. The trade was a 7.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.70, for a total transaction of $174,250.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 30,154 shares in the company, valued at $2,101,733.80. This represents a 7.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 109,983 shares of company stock valued at $7,491,977. 3.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Essent Group

Essent Group Ltd. NYSE: ESNT is a Bermuda-based holding company that provides private mortgage insurance and related risk-management services for the U.S. residential housing market. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company helps mortgage lenders manage the credit risk associated with low-down-payment home loans.

Essent's principal business is mortgage insurance, which protects lenders and other mortgage investors against losses if a borrower defaults. Its products are generally used with conventional residential mortgages that have loan-to-value ratios above the levels traditionally eligible for uninsured financing.

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