Inspire Advisors LLC Makes New $711,000 Investment in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Key Points

• Inspire Advisors LLC has acquired a new stake in Essent Group Ltd., purchasing 12,316 shares valued at approximately $711,000 during the first quarter.
• Essent Group recently reported earnings of $1.69 EPS, beating consensus estimates, with a revenue increase of 6.4% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.19% and a payout ratio of 18.16%.

Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 12,316 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $711,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 20.2% during the first 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 Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 0.5% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 39,301 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,268,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 6,988 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 47,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,584,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,912 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $119,940.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 251,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,061,380. This represents a 0.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total transaction of $179,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 27,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,624,467. This represents a 9.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,740 shares of company stock valued at $581,386 over the last ninety days. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on ESNT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company in a report 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. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Compass Point set a $69.00 price target on shares of Essent Group and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.71.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of ESNT traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $56.01. The company had a trading volume of 231,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 754,912. The firm has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.20, a PEG ratio of 8.26 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average of $58.25 and a 200-day moving average of $57.32. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $51.61 and a 12 month high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $317.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $311.18 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 57.29% and a return on equity of 12.98%. The company's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Essent Group's payout ratio is presently 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.