Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT Shares Sold by Fox Run Management L.L.C.

Key Points

• Fox Run Management L.L.C. reduced its stake in Essent Group Ltd. by 52.0% during the first quarter, holding 5,786 shares valued at approximately $334,000 after selling 6,276 shares.
• Analyst price targets for Essent Group have seen slight increases, with Barclays raising their target from $58.00 to $59.00, while four analysts rate the stock as a Buy and four as Hold, with a consensus price target of $63.67.
• Essent Group announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31, indicating a 2.0% yield, to be paid on September 10th to investors of record on August 29th.

Fox Run Management L.L.C. reduced its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 52.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,786 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,276 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C.'s holdings in Essent Group were worth $334,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc purchased a new position in Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 330.6% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 20.2% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 102.0% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,687 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the first quarter valued at about $99,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essent Group Price Performance

ESNT stock traded up $1.8350 during trading on Friday, reaching $63.9050. 605,519 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 695,562. The company has a market cap of $6.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.33, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.82. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $51.61 and a 52-week high of $65.33. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $59.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $319.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.46 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 56.36% and a return on equity of 12.66%. The firm's revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Essent Group's payout ratio is currently 18.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $60.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, DOWLING & PARTN downgraded shares of Essent Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William Spiegel sold 6,451 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.74, for a total transaction of $404,735.74. Following the sale, the director owned 26,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,647,050.48. The trade was a 19.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total transaction of $146,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 27,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,608,788.35. The trade was a 8.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,950 shares of company stock valued at $919,651. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

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.