Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 457,864 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 31.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 988,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 457,864 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.95% of Essent Group worth $57,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ESNT. AdvisorNet Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the first quarter worth $25,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its stake in Essent Group by 68.8% in 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. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Essent Group by 53.3% in 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. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of 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 worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Essent Group by 20.2% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ESNT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Compass Point set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Essent Group and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Essent Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.71.

Insider Activity

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

Essent Group Stock Performance

Shares of ESNT stock opened at $55.96 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.19, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.81. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $51.61 and a 52-week high of $65.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.18.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.03. Essent Group had a net margin of 57.29% and a return on equity of 12.98%. The firm had revenue of $317.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.18 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Essent Group’s dividend 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.