Fox Run Management L.L.C. Has $334,000 Stock Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

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

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 12,371 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $673,000 after purchasing an additional 2,823 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Essent Group by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 62,778 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,418,000 after buying an additional 13,481 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Essent Group by 40.6% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 60,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,299,000 after buying an additional 17,500 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Essent Group during the 4th quarter worth about $2,456,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 827.4% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 2,987 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,608,788.35. This represents a 8.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William Spiegel sold 6,451 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.74, for a total value of $404,735.74. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,647,050.48. This represents a 19.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,950 shares of company stock worth $919,651 in the last ninety days. 3.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. DOWLING & PARTN lowered Essent Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price target on Essent Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Compass Point restated a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.67.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESNT traded down $0.8350 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $63.0650. 651,783 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 699,111. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $59.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.82. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.46 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 56.36% and a return on equity of 12.66%. Essent Group's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.10%.

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.