Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Decreases Stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 14.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 281,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 48,683 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned about 0.26% of Essent Group worth $16,750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ESNT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Essent Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,678,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Essent Group by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,917,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $709,229,000 after purchasing an additional 440,385 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $20,097,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 6.9% during 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 buying an additional 258,246 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 650,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,295,000 after buying an additional 154,591 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ESNT. UBS Group boosted their target price on Essent Group from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on 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 boosted their target price on Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Essent Group from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.88.

Essent Group Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE ESNT opened at $62.85 on Monday. Essent Group Ltd. has a twelve month low of $45.63 and a twelve month high of $62.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.70 billion, a PE ratio of 9.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $57.20 and its 200 day moving average is $55.62.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company posted $1.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essent Group news, 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 199,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,989,450.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 27,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,521,525.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were 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 $11,989,450.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

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.