Federated Hermes Inc. Trims Position in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Federated Hermes Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 10.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,165 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essent Group by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,559,000 after acquiring an additional 1,864 shares during the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $215,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Essent Group by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 41,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,421,000 after buying an additional 3,885 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Essent Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $711,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Essent Group by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 28,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,663,000 after buying an additional 1,006 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $60.23 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.33 and a beta of 0.82. Essent Group Ltd. has a one year low of $51.61 and a one year high of $65.33.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $319.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $317.46 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 57.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.80, for a total transaction of $179,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 27,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,624,467. The trade was a 9.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total value of $146,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,608,788.35. This trade represents a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,516 shares of company stock valued at $567,939. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ESNT shares. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 target price on Essent Group and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Compass Point restated a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.67.

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.