Xponance Inc. Has $801,000 Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Xponance Inc. lessened its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 6.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 990 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in Essent Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $725,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position 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 worth $10,542,000 after buying an additional 49,393 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the first quarter worth $780,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the first quarter valued at about $977,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $605,320,000 after acquiring an additional 75,825 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total transaction of $127,180.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,616,203.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Essent Group news, Director Roy James Kasmar sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 27,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,596,103.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at $1,616,203.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,188 shares of company stock valued at $1,094,076. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESNT opened at $63.87 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $45.63 and a 1 year high of $65.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.26.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $308.33 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.61 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 16.94%.

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.