Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Position Reduced by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. has significantly decreased its stake in Essent Group Ltd. by 66.7%, now holding only 6,490 shares valued at $375,000, after selling 13,027 shares in the first quarter.
• Insider transactions include a sale by director Douglas J. Pauls who sold 3,000 shares and CFO David B. Weinstock who sold 2,500 shares, indicating a decline in their ownership positions.
• Essent Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.2% and a dividend payout ratio of 18.16%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 66.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,490 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,027 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Essent Group were worth $375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 20.2% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in Essent Group by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 39,301 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,268,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Essent Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 6,988 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Essent Group by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 47,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,584,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of 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. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essent Group Price Performance

NYSE:ESNT traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $58.01. The stock had a trading volume of 243,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 750,614. The company has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.31 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. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $58.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.32.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $317.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.18 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 57.29%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Essent Group's payout ratio is presently 18.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESNT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued 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 Essent Group and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essent Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,999 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $119,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 251,023 shares in the company, valued at $15,061,380. The trade was a 0.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 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 owned 27,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,608,788.35. This represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,740 shares of company stock worth $581,386 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

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.