Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Sells 3,994 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lowered its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 28.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,994 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the first quarter worth about $780,000. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth about $6,195,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the first quarter worth about $977,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,477,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $605,320,000 after buying an additional 75,825 shares during the period. Finally, NFC Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth about $2,976,000. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $60.92. The company had a trading volume of 750,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 512,533. The company has a market capitalization of $6.50 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 Ltd. has a 52 week low of $45.63 and a 52 week high of $62.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $56.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.32.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released 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 business had revenue of $298.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $298.69 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.24% and a net margin of 61.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.59 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ESNT shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Essent Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Essent Group from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Essent Group from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,521,525.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Essent Group news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,521,525.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.14, for a total value of $672,846.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 199,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,989,450.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

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.