Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Sells 214 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 214 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $447,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ESNT. AdvisorNet Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 68.8% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 330.6% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 843 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Essent Group by 20.2% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total value of $179,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 27,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,624,467. This represents a 9.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $119,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 251,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,061,380. This represents a 0.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,740 shares of company stock worth $581,386 in the last quarter. 2.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on ESNT. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Essent Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Essent Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.71.

Essent Group Trading Down 3.2%

NYSE ESNT opened at $56.81 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $58.97 and its 200 day moving average is $57.14. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $51.61 and a 12 month high of $65.34. The stock has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a PE ratio of 8.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.81.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 57.29%. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Essent Group’s payout ratio is currently 18.16%.

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.