Bank of New York Mellon Corp Has $57.03 Million Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 31.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 988,108 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 457,864 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.95% of Essent Group worth $57,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Essent Group by 138.9% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 100,228 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,785,000 after acquiring an additional 58,271 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC bought a new position in Essent Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $205,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 22.8% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 43,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,505,000 after buying an additional 8,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 5.6% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 15,645 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $903,000 after buying an additional 827 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essent Group Stock Performance

NYSE:ESNT traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $55.88. 1,029,045 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 676,371. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $58.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.81. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $51.61 and a fifty-two week high of $65.34.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.03. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 57.29%. The company had revenue of $317.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.18 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 2.22%. Essent Group's payout ratio is presently 18.16%.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In related news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,624,467. This represents a 9.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,999 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $119,940.00. Following 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,740 shares of company stock valued at $581,386. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ESNT. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essent Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.