Cooke & Bieler LP Sells 129,197 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Cooke & Bieler LP cut its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,099,728 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 129,197 shares during the quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP owned 2.02% of Essent Group worth $121,196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ESNT. AdvisorNet Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 330.6% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 20.2% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 102.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,687 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 66.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Compass Point set a $69.00 price target on Essent Group and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $65.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total value of $179,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,740 shares of company stock valued at $581,386. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE ESNT traded down $0.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $55.69. The company had a trading volume of 659,486 shares, compared to its average volume of 677,138. The stock has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.15, a PEG ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 0.81. The company's fifty day moving average price is $58.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.23. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $51.61 and a 12 month high of $65.34.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.18 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.16%.

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.