Capital Research Global Investors Sells 1,200,000 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Capital Research Global Investors reduced its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 70.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 500,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,200,000 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors owned about 0.47% of Essent Group worth $29,755,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the first quarter worth about $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 4th quarter worth about $200,000. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group during the first quarter worth about $215,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essent Group Price Performance

ESNT opened at $62.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.51, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.11. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $45.63 and a 1-year high of $62.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.60.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.14. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.24% and a net margin of 61.40%. The business had revenue of $298.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $298.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. Essent Group’s payout ratio is currently 16.94%.

Insider Activity

In other Essent Group news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,521,525.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Essent Group news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 27,112 shares in the company, valued at $1,521,525.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.14, for a total transaction of $672,846.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 199,359 shares in the company, valued at $11,989,450.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ESNT. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Essent Group from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on Essent Group from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note 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. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.88.

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.