Summit Global Investments Has $1.12 Million Stake in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Summit Global Investments lowered its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 19.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,503 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Essent Group were worth $1,120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Essent Group by 1,765.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the first quarter valued at $46,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 32.9% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Essent Group in the first quarter valued at about $99,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 20.6% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.0%

Essent Group stock opened at $62.53 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10, a PEG ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $51.61 and a fifty-two week high of $65.90.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.75 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $298.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.84 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.40% and a net margin of 55.63%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.05%.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,479 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $746,135.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 196,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,799,930. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.33, for a total value of $158,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 24,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,574,700.45. This trade represents a 9.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 17,979 shares of company stock valued at $1,164,460 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on ESNT. DOWLING & PARTN cut Essent Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Compass Point reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.67.

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.