Yousif Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,232 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $2,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. AdvisorNet Financial Inc purchased a new position in Essent Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Essent Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 68.8% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 330.6% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Essent Group by 53.3% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Essent Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,777 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total transaction of $106,744.39. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 253,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,199,031.54. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total transaction of $179,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,624,467. The trade was a 9.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,001 shares of company stock worth $299,591 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Performance

ESNT stock opened at $58.52 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $57.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.53. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $51.61 and a one year high of $65.34. The company has a market capitalization of $5.93 billion, a PE ratio of 8.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.81.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $317.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.18 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 58.69% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Essent Group’s payout ratio is 18.16%.

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.