Summit Global Investments Has $1.32 Million Stock Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Summit Global Investments grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 15.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 22,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,018 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Essent Group were worth $1,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,364,000. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 45.9% in the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,228,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $121,343,000 after purchasing an additional 700,730 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 43.2% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,709,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $93,040,000 after purchasing an additional 515,171 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 144.8% during the fourth quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 846,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,065,000 after buying an additional 500,494 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,966,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,038,000 after buying an additional 445,012 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESNT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Essent Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Compass Point set a $69.00 price target on shares of Essent Group and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.29.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE ESNT opened at $58.01 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.44. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $51.61 and a 12 month high of $65.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.48, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is presently 18.16%.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 253,022 shares in the company, valued at $15,199,031.54. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total transaction of $179,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,165 shares in the company, valued at $1,624,467. This trade represents a 9.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,001 shares of company stock valued at $299,591. 3.40% of the stock is owned by 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.