LSV Asset Management Cuts Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

LSV Asset Management trimmed its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 0.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 536,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,100 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned 0.50% of Essent Group worth $30,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Paralel Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the second quarter valued at about $2,155,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 4.3% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 15,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after buying an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 2.0% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 29,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,681,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 1.0% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 361,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,286,000 after buying an additional 3,507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 11.3% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 11,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $628,000 after buying an additional 1,138 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:ESNT opened at $62.59 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $60.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.35. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $45.63 and a 52 week high of $64.69. The company has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a PE ratio of 9.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.12.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released 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 return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 61.31%. The company had revenue of $272.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.33 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.61 EPS. Essent Group’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.02 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Essent Group from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Essent Group from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on Essent Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price objective on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 199,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,989,450.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 199,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,989,450.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 27,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,596,103.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.