Rhumbline Advisers Decreases Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Rhumbline Advisers trimmed its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 368,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,134 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.36% of Essent Group worth $22,356,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ESNT. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Essent Group by 2.4% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 49,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,054,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,027,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,396,000 after purchasing an additional 45,606 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,736,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Essent Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $324,000. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $63.02 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $51.61 and a fifty-two week high of $65.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. The company has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a fifty day moving average of $61.45 and a 200 day moving average of $60.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $311.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.84 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 55.63% and a return on equity of 12.40%. Essent Group’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on ESNT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Compass Point restated a “buy” rating on shares of 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 report on Friday, August 8th. DOWLING & PARTN cut Essent Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price objective on Essent Group and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,000 shares of the business’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 $260,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 243,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,796,495. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,479 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $746,135.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 196,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,799,930. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 17,979 shares of company stock worth $1,164,460 in the last three months. 2.90% of the stock is owned by company 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.