Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $375,000 Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

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. lowered its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 66.7% during the first quarter, according to 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 quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Essent Group were worth $375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ESNT. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 4th quarter valued at $69,364,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Essent Group by 1,272.6% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 970,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $56,044,000 after acquiring an additional 900,229 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Essent Group by 43.2% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,709,029 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $93,040,000 after acquiring an additional 515,171 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC lifted its position in Essent Group by 144.8% during the 4th quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 846,169 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,065,000 after acquiring an additional 500,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Essent Group by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,966,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $107,038,000 after acquiring an additional 445,012 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESNT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Compass Point set a $69.00 target price on shares of Essent Group and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.71.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESNT traded up $0.53 on Friday, hitting $56.52. 669,061 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 814,718. The company's 50 day moving average price is $58.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.32. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $51.61 and a one year high of $65.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.28, a PEG ratio of 8.25 and a beta of 0.82.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.03. Essent Group had a net margin of 57.29% and a return on equity of 12.98%. The company had revenue of $317.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.18 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Essent Group's payout ratio is presently 18.16%.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 owned 27,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,624,467. This represents a 9.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,740 shares of company stock worth $581,386. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.