Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT Shares Acquired by Seizert Capital Partners LLC

Seizert Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 73,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,640 shares during the period. Seizert Capital Partners LLC owned about 0.07% of Essent Group worth $4,487,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Essent Group by 1,765.2% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 32.9% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Essent Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $99,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Essent Group by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. Compass Point reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. DOWLING & PARTN lowered Essent Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 target price on shares of Essent Group and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Essent Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essent Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.67.

Insider Activity

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.33, for a total transaction of $158,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 24,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,574,700.45. This trade represents a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,479 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $12,799,930. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,979 shares of company stock valued at $1,164,460. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Essent Group Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of ESNT opened at $60.95 on Wednesday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52-week low of $51.61 and a 52-week high of $65.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.16. The company has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Essent Group Announces Dividend

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

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.