Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Sold by Sapience Investments LLC

Sapience Investments LLC cut its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 24.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,632 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,811 shares during the quarter. Sapience Investments LLC's holdings in Essent Group were worth $1,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 worth $673,265,000 after acquiring an additional 432,034 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of 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 worth $281,382,000 after acquiring an additional 200,284 shares in the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc lifted its stake in Essent Group by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 2,700,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $146,988,000 after purchasing an additional 350,000 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Essent Group by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,370,484 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $129,049,000 after purchasing an additional 221,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE ESNT traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $57.55. 165,841 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 640,269. The stock has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.41, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $51.61 and a 1 year high of $65.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.32.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last announced 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 the consensus estimate of $311.18 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 58.69%. The company's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total transaction of $179,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,624,467. The trade was a 9.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total value of $106,744.39. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 253,022 shares in the company, valued at $15,199,031.54. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,001 shares of company stock valued at $299,591. 2.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on ESNT shares. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.71.

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.