Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Acquired by Assetmark Inc.

Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 32.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,941 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $3,905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ESNT. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in Essent Group by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Essent Group by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 50,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,841,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Essent Group by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $613,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. Provident Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $790,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 49.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $57.06 on Wednesday. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $47.56 and a twelve month high of $65.33. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.41. The company has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.11, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.12.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 16.23%.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total transaction of $127,180.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at $1,616,203.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ESNT. BTIG Research upped their target price on Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.00.

Essent Group Company 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.