Erste Asset Management GmbH Invests $511,000 in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 8,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $511,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Walleye Capital LLC increased its stake in Essent Group by 45.5% in the 3rd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 345,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,223,000 after buying an additional 108,061 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P increased its stake in Essent Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 94,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,053,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Essent Group by 132.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 424,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,294,000 after buying an additional 241,840 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Essent Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $130,000. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Essent Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,209,000. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays cut their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective 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. Four equities 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, Essent Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.00.

Essent Group Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE ESNT opened at $56.29 on Thursday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12 month low of $48.08 and a 12 month high of $65.33. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.54. The stock has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.16, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a net margin of 60.15% and a return on equity of 13.81%. Essent Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 969.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.59, for a total transaction of $127,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,616,203.44. The trade was a 7.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

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.