Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Cuts Position in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 33.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 23,643 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $2,808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Essent Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $993,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 280.5% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 10,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 7,614 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 760.5% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 367,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,210,000 after buying an additional 324,757 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 2.0% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 271,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,688,000 after buying an additional 5,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $314,000. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on ESNT. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Thursday. Compass Point reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. DOWLING & PARTN lowered shares of Essent Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essent Group

In related news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $260,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 243,023 shares in the company, valued at $15,796,495. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,479 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $746,135.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 196,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,799,930. The trade was a 5.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 17,979 shares of company stock valued at $1,164,460. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.4%

Essent Group stock opened at $61.48 on Monday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $51.61 and a 52 week high of $65.90. The firm has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $61.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.75 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $298.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.84 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.40% and a net margin of 55.63%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.05%.

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.