Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Raises Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 4.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 23,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,088 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $1,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Essent Group during the first quarter worth $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Essent Group by 49.7% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $200,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Essent Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $220,000. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.81, for a total transaction of $294,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,596,103.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 199,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,989,450.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.81, for a total value of $294,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,596,103.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on ESNT. Barclays upped their price objective on Essent Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Essent Group from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.33.

Essent Group Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ESNT opened at $64.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a PE ratio of 9.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.11. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12-month low of $45.63 and a 12-month high of $64.42. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.96.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.23. Essent Group had a net margin of 61.31% and a return on equity of 14.40%. The business had revenue of $272.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.33 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.61 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.02 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.94%.

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.