Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT Shares Sold by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has decreased its stake in Essent Group Ltd. by 2.1%, owning 1,429,599 shares valued at approximately $82.5 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Essent Group recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.93, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue showing a 2% year-on-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, translating to an annualized payout of $1.24, resulting in a dividend yield of 1.9%.

Northern Trust Corp decreased its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,429,599 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 30,837 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.38% of Essent Group worth $82,516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth about $993,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its holdings in Essent Group by 280.5% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 10,328 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 7,614 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth about $332,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 66.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Compass Point reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. DOWLING & PARTN lowered Essent Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $60.00 target price on Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total transaction of $146,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 3,760 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total value of $233,120.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 247,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,315,426. This represents a 1.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,950 shares of company stock valued at $919,651 in the last three months. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of ESNT traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $62.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 439,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 603,043. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.82. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $51.61 and a 1-year high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $319.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $317.46 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 56.36%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. Analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.