Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Cuts Stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 29.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 267,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 113,399 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $15,905,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $215,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Essent Group by 4.7% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 24,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Essent Group by 65.3% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 2,482 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 2.1% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 44,437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,644,000 after buying an additional 922 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter valued at $780,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essent Group news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.14, for a total transaction of $672,846.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 199,359 shares in the company, valued at $11,989,450.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Essent Group news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.14, for a total transaction of $672,846.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 199,359 shares in the company, valued at $11,989,450.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.12, for a total value of $140,300.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,521,525.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Essent Group Stock Performance

NYSE ESNT traded down $0.24 on Friday, hitting $60.60. The stock had a trading volume of 437,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 507,959. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $56.70 and a 200-day moving average of $55.30. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $45.63 and a 52-week high of $62.06. The company has a market capitalization of $6.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.11.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.14. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.24% and a net margin of 61.40%. The company had revenue of $298.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $298.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ESNT. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Essent Group from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Essent Group from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.88.

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.