Kingsview Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 34,359 Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 34,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,209,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Essent Group by 726.8% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Essent Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 167.1% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at $1,616,203.44. This trade represents a 7.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESNT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.00.

Essent Group Price Performance

ESNT stock opened at $58.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.52. The stock has a market cap of $6.17 billion, a PE ratio of 8.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.12. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $47.56 and a one year high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is 16.23%.

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.