Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Sold by American International Group Inc.

American International Group Inc. trimmed its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 191,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,549 shares during the quarter. American International Group Inc. owned about 0.18% of Essent Group worth $11,421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Essent Group during the 4th quarter worth about $60,678,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Essent Group by 3.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,917,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $709,229,000 after acquiring an additional 440,385 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in Essent Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $20,097,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,025,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $212,326,000 after acquiring an additional 258,246 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Essent Group by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 650,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,295,000 after purchasing an additional 154,591 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.12, for a total transaction of $140,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,521,525.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.12, for a total transaction of $140,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,112 shares in the company, valued at $1,521,525.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 199,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,989,450.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ESNT. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Essent Group from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Essent Group from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essent Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.88.

Essent Group Price Performance

ESNT stock traded down $0.66 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $60.55. The stock had a trading volume of 460,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 513,366. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $45.63 and a twelve month high of $62.06. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $56.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.16, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.11.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.14. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.24% and a net margin of 61.40%. The firm had revenue of $298.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $298.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 16.94%.

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.