CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 32.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,313 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,460 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC's holdings in Essent Group were worth $1,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ESNT. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Essent Group by 215.1% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 86,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,687,000 after acquiring an additional 58,768 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,570,532 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $85,500,000 after purchasing an additional 19,387 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP increased its stake in Essent Group by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 221,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,070,000 after purchasing an additional 33,698 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Essent Group by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 516,747 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,132,000 after buying an additional 27,077 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Essent Group by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 112,394 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,119,000 after buying an additional 26,537 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.
Essent Group Trading Up 1.9%
Shares of ESNT stock opened at $59.03 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.81. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $57.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.58. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $51.61 and a 52 week high of $65.34.
Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.03. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 57.29%. The firm had revenue of $317.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.18 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Essent Group Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.16%.
Insider Activity
In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total value of $106,744.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 253,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,199,031.54. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,608,788.35. This represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,501 shares of company stock worth $446,566. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
ESNT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Compass Point set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.29.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on ESNT
Essent Group Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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