Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT Stock Sold by Summit Global Investments

Summit Global Investments cut its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 49.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,251 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Essent Group were worth $497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 9.2% in the third quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 199,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,534,000 after purchasing an additional 16,700 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter worth $305,000. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ boosted its stake in Essent Group by 23.1% during the third quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ now owns 13,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $790,000 after buying an additional 2,560 shares during the period. Provident Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Essent Group by 1.6% during the third quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,287,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Essent Group by 64.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 2,303 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, Director Douglas Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.70, for a total value of $174,250.00. Following the sale, the director owned 30,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,101,733.80. This trade represents a 7.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Roy Kasmar sold 4,837 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.71, for a total transaction of $332,350.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,361 shares in the company, valued at $1,467,714.31. The trade was a 18.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 70,146 shares of company stock worth $4,900,365 over the last ninety days. 3.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Essent Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Essent Group from $72.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Roth Capital increased their target price on Essent Group from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.75.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $67.67 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.52, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.71. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $55.34 and a fifty-two week high of $70.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $65.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.00.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Essent Group had a net margin of 51.45% and a return on equity of 11.91%. The firm had revenue of $362.69 million for the quarter. Analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.53%.

Essent Group Profile

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE: ESNT) is a Bermuda-based holding company that provides private mortgage insurance and related risk-management services in the United States. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company helps protect mortgage lenders and investors against losses when borrowers default on residential mortgage loans.

Its principal business is mortgage insurance for low-down-payment conventional residential mortgages, enabling qualified borrowers to obtain home financing with less than a 20% down payment.