Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT Holdings Raised by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 93.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 62,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,378 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $3,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ESNT. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Essent Group by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 5.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 1.6% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 19,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,145,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 0.7% during the first quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 49,403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,887,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 11.6% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Stock Performance

ESNT stock opened at $66.83 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $55.34 and a twelve month high of $70.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s fifty day moving average is $65.98 and its 200-day moving average is $63.73.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $362.69 million during the quarter. Essent Group had a return on equity of 11.91% and a net margin of 51.45%. Equities research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. Essent Group’s payout ratio is presently 19.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ESNT shares. Roth Capital raised their price target on Essent Group from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Essent Group from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Roy Kasmar sold 4,837 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.71, for a total value of $332,350.27. Following the sale, the director directly owned 21,361 shares in the company, valued at $1,467,714.31. This trade represents a 18.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 14,175 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $992,250.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 184,274 shares in the company, valued at $12,899,180. The trade was a 7.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 70,146 shares of company stock worth $4,900,365 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Profile

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE: ESNT) is a Bermuda-based holding company that provides private mortgage insurance and related risk-management services in the United States. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company helps protect mortgage lenders and investors against losses when borrowers default on residential mortgage loans.

Its principal business is mortgage insurance for low-down-payment conventional residential mortgages, enabling qualified borrowers to obtain home financing with less than a 20% down payment.