5,167 Shares in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT Purchased by Pallas Capital Advisors LLC

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $314,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 20.2% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 39,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,268,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 20.6% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essent Group Stock Performance

NYSE:ESNT opened at $65.24 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $60.51 and its 200 day moving average is $58.52. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $51.61 and a fifty-two week high of $65.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.43 billion, a PE ratio of 9.52, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.86. 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 (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $319.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.46 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 56.36% and a return on equity of 12.66%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ESNT shares. DOWLING & PARTN downgraded Essent Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Compass Point reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $60.00 price objective on Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.67.

Insider Activity at Essent Group

In related news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 3,760 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was 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 owned 247,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,315,426. The trade was a 1.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.33, for a total value of $158,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 24,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,574,700.45. This represents a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,951 shares of company stock valued at $811,061 over the last quarter. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.