Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Sold by Quarry LP

Quarry LP lowered its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 37.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 315 shares during the quarter. Quarry LP’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $33,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Essent Group by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,680,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $262,973,000 after buying an additional 445,853 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Essent Group by 132.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 424,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,294,000 after buying an additional 241,840 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 436,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,499,000 after acquiring an additional 177,700 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Essent Group by 45.5% during the third quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 345,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,223,000 after acquiring an additional 108,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,748,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,616,203.44. The trade was a 7.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their price target on Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Essent Group from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essent Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.71.

Essent Group Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE ESNT opened at $55.49 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.04, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50 day moving average is $58.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.52. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12-month low of $49.67 and a 12-month high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The company’s revenue was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.23%.

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.