EP Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 329 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $200,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. NFC Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. NFC Investments LLC now owns 56,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,086,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in Essent Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 6,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Essent Group by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 47,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,584,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essent Group Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $58.62 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $56.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.33. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $51.61 and a 52 week high of $65.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a PE ratio of 8.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $317.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $311.18 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 18.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essent Group news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total transaction of $179,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,624,467. The trade was a 9.95% 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, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total transaction of $106,744.39. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 253,022 shares in the company, valued at $15,199,031.54. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,001 shares of company stock valued at $299,591. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on ESNT shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essent Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.71.

Essent Group 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.