7,027 Shares in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT Bought by United Services Automobile Association

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 bought a new position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,027 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $403,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Essent Group by 670.5% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 663,332 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,288,000 after acquiring an additional 577,245 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Essent Group by 74.2% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 103,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,975,000 after buying an additional 44,088 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in Essent Group in the 1st quarter valued at $1,169,000. Hancock Whitney Corp bought a new stake in Essent Group in the 1st quarter valued at $388,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 64.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 848,282 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,581,000 after purchasing an additional 331,535 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:ESNT traded down $0.66 on Tuesday, reaching $62.68. 217,884 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 721,431. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.85. The company's 50 day moving average is $60.00 and its 200-day moving average is $58.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $51.61 and a 1-year high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $319.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $317.46 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 56.36%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.91 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other news, Director William Spiegel sold 6,451 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,647,050.48. This trade represents a 19.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 3,760 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 247,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,315,426. This represents a 1.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,450 shares of company stock valued at $772,676. Insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESNT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Compass Point reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price target on shares of Essent Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Essent Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. DOWLING & PARTN downgraded shares of Essent Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.67.

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.