Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT Shares Sold by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 410 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Essent Group by 1.9% in the second quarter. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC now owns 43,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,654,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Essent Group by 863.3% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $172,000 after acquiring an additional 2,538 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 16,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $972,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 169.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $959,000 after purchasing an additional 9,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $346,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on ESNT. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price target on Essent Group and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. DOWLING & PARTN cut Essent Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Essent Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Vijay Bhasin sold 11,479 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 243,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,796,495. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,190 shares of company stock worth $1,802,316. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $59.10 on Friday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $51.61 and a 1 year high of $65.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $62.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.18. The company has a market capitalization of $5.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 56.36%.The business had revenue of $319.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.46 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. Essent Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.10%.

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.