Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,545,937 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 24,595 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.49% of Essent Group worth $89,231,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Essent Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,168,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $281,382,000 after buying an additional 200,284 shares during the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,700,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $146,988,000 after purchasing an additional 350,000 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,370,484 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $129,049,000 after purchasing an additional 221,950 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,966,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $107,038,000 after purchasing an additional 445,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 43.2% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,709,029 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $93,040,000 after purchasing an additional 515,171 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In related news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 3,760 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 27,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,608,788.35. This represents a 8.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,950 shares of company stock valued at $919,651 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Price Performance

ESNT traded down $0.98 during trading on Friday, hitting $61.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 561,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 756,030. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $65.33. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $58.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.03, a P/E/G ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.82.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 56.36%. The company had revenue of $319.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.46 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.91 earnings per share. Essent Group'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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Essent Group's payout ratio is currently 18.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESNT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Compass Point restated a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $60.00 price objective on Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Barclays raised their target price on Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essent Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.67.

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.