NFC Investments LLC Boosts Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

NFC Investments LLC grew its position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 0.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 56,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the period. Essent Group makes up 1.0% of NFC Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. NFC Investments LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $3,633,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Essent Group by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,680,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $262,973,000 after buying an additional 445,853 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,551,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,723,000 after buying an additional 12,431 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 750,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,268,000 after buying an additional 10,684 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Essent Group by 132.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 241,840 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 25,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,616,203.44. This trade represents a 7.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Essent Group stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $56.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 77,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 529,782. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $48.08 and a 1-year high of $65.33. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.26, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The business’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 earned $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on ESNT. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.00.

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.