Edgestream Partners L.P. Sells 2,290 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Edgestream Partners L.P. decreased its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,290 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $2,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth about $60,678,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Essent Group by 3.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,917,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $709,229,000 after purchasing an additional 440,385 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth about $20,097,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Essent Group by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,025,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $212,326,000 after purchasing an additional 258,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Essent Group by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 650,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,295,000 after purchasing an additional 154,591 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.8 %

ESNT stock traded up $0.47 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $61.39. 84,516 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 509,345. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.22, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.38. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $45.63 and a 1 year high of $62.06.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $298.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $298.69 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 61.40% and a return on equity of 14.24%. Essent Group’s revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.59 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 16.94%.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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