WBI Investments LLC Takes Position in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

WBI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 14,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $897,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Essent Group by 1,765.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 32.9% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $99,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Essent Group by 20.6% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essent Group Price Performance

Essent Group stock opened at $60.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $61.64 and a 200-day moving average of $60.16. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $51.61 and a 52-week high of $65.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.87, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.91.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.40% and a net margin of 55.63%.The business had revenue of $298.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.84 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In related news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $260,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 243,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,796,495. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,479 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $746,135.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 196,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,799,930. The trade was a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 17,979 shares of company stock valued at $1,164,460 over the last 90 days. 3.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “cautious” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Essent Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 target price on Essent Group and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Compass Point reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.67.

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.