Advisors Asset Management Inc. Has $131,000 Stock Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 20.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc acquired a new position in Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Essent Group by 330.6% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Essent Group by 20.2% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming increased its position in Essent Group by 102.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:ESNT opened at $63.75 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $59.93 and its 200-day moving average is $58.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $51.61 and a 52 week high of $65.33. The firm has a market cap of $6.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.86.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. Essent Group had a net margin of 56.36% and a return on equity of 12.66%. The company had revenue of $319.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.46 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total value of $146,975.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,608,788.35. This represents a 8.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 3,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total transaction of $233,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 247,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,315,426. This represents a 1.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,950 shares of company stock valued at $919,651. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ESNT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price target on shares of Essent Group and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. DOWLING & PARTN cut shares of Essent Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $60.00 price target on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.67.

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.