Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Sold by Man Group plc

Man Group plc reduced its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 29.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,523 shares during the period. Man Group plc's holdings in Essent Group were worth $850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ESNT. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its holdings in Essent Group by 68.8% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Essent Group by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Essent Group by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total transaction of $106,744.39. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 253,022 shares in the company, valued at $15,199,031.54. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 27,165 shares in the company, valued at $1,624,467. This trade represents a 9.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,001 shares of company stock worth $299,591 over the last ninety days. 3.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on ESNT. 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 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Compass Point set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.29.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $57.86. 66,742 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 762,236. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $51.61 and a fifty-two week high of $65.33. The company has a market capitalization of $5.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $56.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.42.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.03. Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The business had revenue of $317.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.18 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.16%.

About Essent Group

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.