Intech Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Intech Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 2.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 263,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,004 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $16,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Essent Group by 1,272.6% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 970,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,044,000 after purchasing an additional 900,229 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the first quarter worth $41,084,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the first quarter valued at $34,060,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Essent Group by 670.5% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 663,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,288,000 after acquiring an additional 577,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Essent Group by 64.2% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 848,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,581,000 after acquiring an additional 331,535 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $260,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 243,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,796,495. This represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.33, for a total transaction of $158,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 24,865 shares in the company, valued at $1,574,700.45. The trade was a 9.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 17,979 shares of company stock valued at $1,164,460 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DOWLING & PARTN lowered shares of Essent Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Compass Point reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price target on Essent Group and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.67.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $61.48 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.95, a PEG ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.91. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $51.61 and a twelve month high of $65.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.07.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.40% and a net margin of 55.63%.The company had revenue of $298.41 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.84 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. Essent Group’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.05%.

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.