Summit Global Investments Sells 708 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Summit Global Investments lessened its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 2.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 708 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Essent Group were worth $1,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 440,385 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,680,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $262,973,000 after acquiring an additional 445,853 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 436,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,499,000 after acquiring an additional 177,700 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 361,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,286,000 after acquiring an additional 3,507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Essent Group by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 252,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,036,000 after buying an additional 5,376 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $55.25 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $62.08 and a 200-day moving average of $59.32. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12-month low of $47.56 and a 12-month high of $65.33. The firm has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.01, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.12.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be 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 is Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,616,203.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ESNT. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” 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 issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.00.

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.