Albion Financial Group UT Cuts Stock Holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT)

Albion Financial Group UT lessened its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 7.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 256 shares during the quarter. Albion Financial Group UT’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $204,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ESNT. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC increased its position in Essent Group by 4.1% in the first quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 12,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $767,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its stake in Essent Group by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 26,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,555,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Essent Group by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 5,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 921.0% in the first quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 4,467 shares during the period. Finally, Fairman Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter valued at $6,195,000. 93.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In related news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.12, for a total transaction of $140,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,521,525.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $55.90 on Thursday. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1 year low of $44.96 and a 1 year high of $59.90. The company has a 50-day moving average of $55.91 and a 200 day moving average of $54.85. The firm has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.46, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.11.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The financial services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.14. Essent Group had a return on equity of 14.24% and a net margin of 61.40%. The company had revenue of $298.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $298.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.59 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Essent Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESNT has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Essent Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $58.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Essent Group from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Essent Group from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Essent Group from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.25.

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.