Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT – Get Rating) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 25,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $993,000.
Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 5.2% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 70,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,889,000 after acquiring an additional 3,493 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 10.5% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 40,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,668,000 after acquiring an additional 3,859 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 0.5% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 14,995,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $617,982,000 after acquiring an additional 71,629 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 2.0% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 59,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,441,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 6.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,798,959 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,139,000 after acquiring an additional 103,375 shares during the last quarter. 92.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Monday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Essent Group from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Essent Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 5th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Essent Group in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Essent Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.80.
Essent Group Stock Performance
Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.22). Essent Group had a net margin of 83.07% and a return on equity of 19.28%. The firm had revenue of $230.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.56 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.
Essent Group Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 9th. This is a boost from Essent Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.97%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group
In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,072 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $48,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 247,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,128,185. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,072 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $48,240.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 247,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,128,185. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.49, for a total value of $108,725.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,746.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.
About Essent Group
Essent Group Ltd. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of banking services. It offers mortgage insurance, reinsurance, and risk management products. The company was founded by Mark A. Casale on July 1, 2008 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.
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