Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Position Lifted by Martingale Asset Management L P

Martingale Asset Management L P raised its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 94,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P owned approximately 0.09% of Essent Group worth $6,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESNT. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Essent Group during the 1st quarter valued at $220,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 38.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 177,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,542,000 after buying an additional 49,393 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Trading LLC lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Walleye Trading LLC now owns 5,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $344,000 after buying an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 49.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ESNT opened at $57.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.14 billion, a PE ratio of 8.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $60.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.51. Essent Group Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $47.56 and a fifty-two week high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total transaction of $127,180.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,616,203.44. The trade was a 7.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Essent Group from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.00.

Essent Group 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.