Fmr LLC Decreases Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Fmr LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,919,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 535,098 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned 8.40% of Essent Group worth $573,404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Essent Group by 726.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Essent Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its position in Essent Group by 167.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays dropped their target price 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Essent Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at $1,616,203.44. This trade represents a 7.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Essent Group Stock Performance

NYSE ESNT opened at $57.74 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $60.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.50. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $47.56 and a 52-week high of $65.33. The company has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a PE ratio of 8.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.12.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. Essent Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 969.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.23%.

About Essent Group

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.