Entropy Technologies LP Acquires 21,034 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Entropy Technologies LP raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 156.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 34,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,034 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $2,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in Essent Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $725,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 38.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 177,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,542,000 after acquiring an additional 49,393 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Essent Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $780,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $977,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Essent Group by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,917,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $709,229,000 after purchasing an additional 440,385 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ESNT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays lowered their price target on Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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 note on Tuesday, November 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.00.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $57.06 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.27, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.12. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $47.56 and a one year high of $65.33. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.41.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. Essent Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,616,203.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.