Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT Shares Sold by Boston Partners

Key Points

• Boston Partners has reduced its stake in Essent Group Ltd. by selling 12,761 shares during the first quarter, holding now 912,561 shares valued at approximately $52.3 million.
• Essent Group reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.93, beating the consensus estimate, with revenues of $319.14 million, reflecting a 2.0% year-over-year increase.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.31 has been declared, representing an annualized yield of 2.0%, with a record date of August 29th.

Boston Partners lowered its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 912,561 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,761 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned 0.88% of Essent Group worth $52,295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 330.6% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 20.2% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 102.0% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,687 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 32.9% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,717 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESNT has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $60.00 price objective on Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. DOWLING & PARTN cut Essent Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Compass Point reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.67.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total value of $146,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 27,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,608,788.35. This represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William Spiegel sold 6,451 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.74, for a total transaction of $404,735.74. Following the transaction, the director owned 26,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,647,050.48. This trade represents a 19.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,950 shares of company stock worth $919,651 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Price Performance

ESNT stock traded down $0.13 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $62.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 417,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 721,403. The company has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.82. The company's fifty day moving average is $58.88 and its 200-day moving average is $57.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $51.61 and a 1 year high of $65.33.

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

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Essent Group's payout ratio is currently 18.10%.

Essent Group 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.