Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Essent Group Ltd. by 2.1% during Q1, selling 4,763 shares and owning a total of 225,692 shares worth approximately $13 million.
• Essent Group reported Q2 earnings per share of $1.93, exceeding analysts’ estimates of $1.68, with revenues up 2.0% compared to the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.9%, set to be paid on September 10th.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 225,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,763 shares during the quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.22% of Essent Group worth $13,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Essent Group by 4.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,399,228 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $311,638,000 after purchasing an additional 230,553 shares in the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Essent Group by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,460,436 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $79,506,000 after purchasing an additional 146,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Essent Group by 1,272.6% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 970,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $56,044,000 after purchasing an additional 900,229 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total value of $146,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,608,788.35. This represents a 8.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 3,760 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total value of $233,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 247,023 shares in the company, valued at $15,315,426. This represents a 1.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,950 shares of company stock worth $919,651 in the last ninety days. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESNT traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $62.91. 415,738 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 739,224. 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 12 month low of $51.61 and a 12 month high of $65.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.82. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $59.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.70.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the company posted $1.91 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ESNT. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price objective on Essent Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. DOWLING & PARTN downgraded Essent Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.