Swiss National Bank Lowers Stock Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Swiss National Bank cut its stake in shares of Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 205,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.20% of Essent Group worth $11,872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Essent Group by 20.2% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in Essent Group by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 39,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,268,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Essent Group by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in Essent Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 6,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Essent Group by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ESNT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $60.00 price target on shares of Essent Group and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Compass Point reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $60.00 target price on Essent Group in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Essent Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of Essent Group in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essent Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.67.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 3,760 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total transaction of $233,120.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 247,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,315,426. This represents a 1.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,608,788.35. The trade was a 8.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,950 shares of company stock valued at $919,651 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Stock Up 0.1%

ESNT opened at $62.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.18, a PEG ratio of 8.75 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. The business’s fifty day moving average is $58.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.45.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $319.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.46 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.66% and a net margin of 56.36%. The business’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.91 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.10%.

About Essent Group

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.