UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Cuts Stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lessened its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 417,228 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,314 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.39% of Essent Group worth $22,714,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $69,364,000. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 45.9% in the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,228,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $121,343,000 after purchasing an additional 700,730 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 43.2% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,709,029 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $93,040,000 after purchasing an additional 515,171 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 144.8% in the fourth quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 846,169 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,065,000 after purchasing an additional 500,494 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,966,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $107,038,000 after buying an additional 445,012 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total value of $179,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,624,467. This represents a 9.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total transaction of $106,744.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 253,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,199,031.54. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,001 shares of company stock worth $299,591. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ESNT. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Compass Point set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.29.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE:ESNT traded down $0.24 on Friday, hitting $58.01. The stock had a trading volume of 679,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 645,708. The stock has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.48, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $56.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.44. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $51.61 and a 1-year high of $65.34.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $317.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $311.18 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. Essent Group's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Essent Group's payout ratio is 18.16%.

Essent Group Company 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.