Invesco Ltd. Sells 452,470 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. reduced its stake in Essent Group Ltd. by 26.5% in Q1, owning 1,253,962 shares valued at approximately $72.4 million.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.31 was announced, to be paid on September 10th, reflecting a 2.0% yield and an 18.10% dividend payout ratio.
• Essent Group reported better-than-expected earnings of $1.93 per share, surpassing consensus estimates by $0.25, with a revenue of $319.14 million for the quarter.

Invesco Ltd. lowered its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 26.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,253,962 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 452,470 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned about 1.21% of Essent Group worth $72,379,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake 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. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake 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. Polar Capital Holdings Plc lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,700,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $146,988,000 after acquiring an additional 350,000 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 64.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 721,457 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,276,000 after acquiring an additional 282,895 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 3,760 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 27,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,608,788.35. This trade 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 14,950 shares of company stock worth $919,651. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESNT has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $60.00 price target on Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Compass Point reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price target on Essent Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.67.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE ESNT traded down $0.3770 on Thursday, reaching $61.9730. The company had a trading volume of 327,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 709,051. The stock's 50 day moving average is $58.94 and its 200-day moving average is $57.57. The stock has a market cap of $6.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.82. 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 52 week low of $51.61 and a 52 week high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $319.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Essent Group's dividend 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.