Panagora Asset Management Inc. Sells 38,997 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Essent Group by 23.8%, selling 38,997 shares and now owning a total of 124,688 shares worth approximately $7.2 million.
• Essent Group recently reported earnings of $1.93 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.0%.
• Institutional investors now hold 93.00% of Essent Group's stock, reflecting a strong confidence in the company's financial standing and performance.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 23.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 124,688 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 38,997 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Essent Group worth $7,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other 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 approximately $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,000. 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. Finally, 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. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.0%

ESNT traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $63.81. 453,625 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 529,897. The stock has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.86. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $65.33. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $59.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $319.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.91 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Essent Group's payout ratio is presently 18.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were 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 $1,608,788.35. The trade was a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William Spiegel sold 6,451 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.74, for a total transaction of $404,735.74. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,647,050.48. This trade represents a 19.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 14,950 shares of company stock worth $919,651. Insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on ESNT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $60.00 target price on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. DOWLING & PARTN downgraded shares of Essent Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Compass Point reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essent Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.67.

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.