Bamco Inc. NY Has $1.20 Million Stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Bamco Inc. NY lowered its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 96.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 18,653 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 510,539 shares during the quarter. Bamco Inc. NY’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $1,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ESNT. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Essent Group by 726.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Quarry LP increased its position in Essent Group by 167.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 49.7% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESNT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays cut their price target on Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.00.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:ESNT opened at $56.84 on Wednesday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $48.08 and a 12 month high of $65.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $59.79 and its 200 day moving average is $59.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.04 billion, a PE ratio of 8.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.23%.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total transaction of $127,180.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at $1,616,203.44. This represents a 7.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.