Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 590,091 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $34,060,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.57% of Essent Group at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Essent Group by 330.6% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 843 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Essent Group by 20.2% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in Essent Group by 102.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,687 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 852 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth about $99,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several analysts have issued reports on ESNT shares. DOWLING & PARTN downgraded Essent Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Compass Point restated a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price objective on Essent Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $60.00 price objective on Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.67.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on ESNT
Insider Activity at Essent Group
In related news, Director William Spiegel sold 6,451 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total value of $146,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,950 shares of company stock valued at $919,651. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Essent Group Stock Down 0.6%
Shares of NYSE ESNT traded down $0.3770 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $61.9730. The company had a trading volume of 327,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 709,051. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $58.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $6.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.82. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $319.14 million during 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%. The firm's revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS 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 paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Essent Group's payout ratio is presently 18.10%.
Essent Group Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Recommended Stories
Before you consider Essent Group, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Essent Group wasn't on the list.
While Essent Group currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Wondering what the next stocks will be that hit it big, with solid fundamentals? Enter your email address to see which stocks MarketBeat analysts could become the next blockbuster growth stocks.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.
MarketBeat All Access