Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 208,291 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $13,391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 13,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,000 after buying an additional 2,532 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 15.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $193,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Essent Group during the third quarter worth approximately $519,000. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its position in Essent Group by 156.7% in the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 34,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,215,000 after purchasing an additional 21,034 shares during the period. Finally, Versor Investments LP boosted its stake in Essent Group by 246.7% during the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 15,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $967,000 after purchasing an additional 10,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of ESNT opened at $56.76 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $47.56 and a one year high of $65.33. The company has a 50-day moving average of $60.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.48. The stock has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.23, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.12.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.08). Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The firm 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 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 16.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total value of $127,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at $1,616,203.44. This represents a 7.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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