Barclays PLC Grows Stock Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 154.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 208,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 126,899 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.20% of Essent Group worth $13,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 726.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Essent Group in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group in the second quarter valued at about $47,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Essent Group by 167.1% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 53.9% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $55.19 on Monday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $50.65 and a 1-year high of $65.33. The company has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $58.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.54.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESNT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Essent Group from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.71.

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.