Inspire Investing LLC Has $390,000 Position in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Essent Group by 20.2% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in Essent Group by 0.5% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 39,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,268,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Essent Group by 5.7% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in Essent Group by 2.3% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 16,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $972,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Essent Group by 20.6% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $60.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $62.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.86, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.88. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $51.61 and a 12 month high of $65.90.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $319.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.46 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 56.36%.The company’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.91 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.10%.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,479 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $746,135.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 196,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,799,930. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.33, for a total value of $158,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 24,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,574,700.45. This trade represents a 9.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,190 shares of company stock valued at $1,802,316 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESNT has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Essent Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. DOWLING & PARTN lowered Essent Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Compass Point restated a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 target price on Essent Group and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.