Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Sold by LSV Asset Management

LSV Asset Management lowered its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 6.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 540,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 35,500 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned 0.51% of Essent Group worth $32,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,195,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,477,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $605,320,000 after buying an additional 75,825 shares during the last quarter. NFC Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,976,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $837,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the fourth quarter worth about $60,678,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of ESNT stock traded up $1.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $58.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 559,099 shares, compared to its average volume of 507,266. The business has a fifty day moving average of $56.16 and a 200-day moving average of $54.98. The stock has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.11. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $45.63 and a twelve month high of $59.90.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $298.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $298.69 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 61.40% and a return on equity of 14.24%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.59 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 16.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ESNT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Essent Group from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.88.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In related news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.12, for a total transaction of $140,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,521,525.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

About Essent Group

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.