Net Worth Advisory Group Acquires Shares of 7,202 Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 7,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $463,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ESNT. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in Essent Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $725,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Essent Group by 38.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 177,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,542,000 after buying an additional 49,393 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the first quarter worth approximately $780,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Essent Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $977,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,477,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $605,320,000 after acquiring an additional 75,825 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Down 1.5 %

Essent Group stock opened at $63.95 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $45.63 and a 52-week high of $65.33. The company has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.93.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $272.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.33 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 61.31% and a return on equity of 14.40%. Essent Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.81, for a total value of $294,050.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,596,103.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.81, for a total value of $294,050.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,596,103.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $127,180.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,616,203.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on ESNT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Essent Group from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. BTIG Research raised their target price on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on Essent Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.50.

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.