Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Takes Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,748 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $332,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Essent Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,367,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $673,265,000 after acquiring an additional 432,034 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Essent Group by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,168,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $281,382,000 after acquiring an additional 200,284 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc raised its holdings in Essent Group by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,700,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $146,988,000 after acquiring an additional 350,000 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,370,484 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $129,049,000 after purchasing an additional 221,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 45.9% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total value of $179,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 27,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,624,467. This represents a 9.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,999 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $119,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 251,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,061,380. This trade represents a 0.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,740 shares of company stock valued at $581,386 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Price Performance

NYSE ESNT traded down $0.32 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $59.53. 762,095 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 664,971. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $58.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.09. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12-month low of $51.61 and a 12-month high of $65.34. The firm has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.72, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.81.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $317.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.18 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 57.29% and a return on equity of 12.98%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Essent Group's payout ratio is currently 18.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Compass Point set a $69.00 price target on shares of Essent Group and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays upped 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essent Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.71.

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.