United Services Automobile Association Acquires Shares of 7,027 Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Essent Group Ltd., purchasing 7,027 shares valued at approximately $403,000 during the first quarter.
• Essent Group recently reported earnings of $1.93 per share, exceeding expectations, and announced a dividend of $0.31 per share, with a payout ratio of 18.1%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Essent Group, with a current consensus of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $63.67, reflecting varying opinions on the company's future performance.

United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,027 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $403,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the first quarter worth about $46,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 330.6% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 20.2% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its stake in Essent Group by 102.0% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,687 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William Spiegel sold 6,451 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.74, for a total transaction of $404,735.74. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,647,050.48. This trade represents 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, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 3,760 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total value of $233,120.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 247,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,315,426. The trade was a 1.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,450 shares of company stock worth $772,676. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE ESNT traded up $0.86 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $63.34. 157,198 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 720,532. The business's 50 day moving average is $60.06 and its 200-day moving average is $58.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.86. 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 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $319.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.46 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 56.36%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.91 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $60.00 target price on Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Compass Point restated a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 target price on Essent Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.67.

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.