Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Sold by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System trimmed its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 368 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $1,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Essent Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 330.6% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 20.2% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 102.0% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Essent Group by 66.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total value of $146,975.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,608,788.35. This trade represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,999 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $119,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 251,023 shares in the company, valued at $15,061,380. This represents a 0.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,740 shares of company stock valued at $581,386 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ESNT. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Essent Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Compass Point set a $69.00 price target on Essent Group and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essent Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.71.

Essent Group Trading Down 0.7%

ESNT stock opened at $55.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.15, a P/E/G ratio of 8.19 and a beta of 0.81. Essent Group Ltd. has a 12-month low of $51.61 and a 12-month high of $65.34. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.21.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.03. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 57.29%. The firm had revenue of $317.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $311.18 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.16%.

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.