Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Sells 7,761 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 222,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,761 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $14,290,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ESNT. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Essent Group by 726.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essent Group in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the second quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in Essent Group by 167.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ESNT. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Essent Group from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. 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 report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased 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 note on Tuesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Essent Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Essent Group from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essent Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.00.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In related news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,000 shares of Essent Group 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 25,416 shares in the company, valued at $1,616,203.44. This trade represents a 7.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Price Performance

NYSE:ESNT opened at $55.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.04, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.44. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $47.56 and a 1 year high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.80 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 60.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue 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, analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.23%.

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.