Fmr LLC Decreases Stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Fmr LLC lowered its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 5.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,919,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 535,098 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Essent Group worth $573,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Centaurus Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the third quarter worth $130,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the third quarter worth $2,209,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 81.9% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 100,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,445,000 after purchasing an additional 45,126 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Essent Group by 0.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,551,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,723,000 after buying an additional 12,431 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Essent Group by 112.0% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 27,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,740,000 after buying an additional 14,300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total transaction of $127,180.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,616,203.44. This represents a 7.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on ESNT shares. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.00.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $57.74 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $60.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.50. The company has a market capitalization of $6.13 billion, a PE ratio of 8.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.12. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $47.56 and a 12 month high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. Essent Group’s revenue was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.23%.

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.