Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 18,597 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 65,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,597 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.06% of Essent Group worth $4,022,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in Essent Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $725,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 38.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 177,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,542,000 after purchasing an additional 49,393 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new position in Essent Group during the first quarter worth $780,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the first quarter valued at $977,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $709,229,000 after purchasing an additional 440,385 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on ESNT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays reduced their price target on Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.00.

Essent Group Stock Performance

NYSE:ESNT opened at $55.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.01, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.12. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $47.56 and a fifty-two week high of $65.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $62.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.32.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. Research analysts predict 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 paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,616,203.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.20% 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.